Aston Villa are back in the big time, but how much more can they improve under Unai Emery?
The Spaniard walked into the dugout in the autumn of 2022 to a team in the bottom five of the Premier League. Since he has steadied the ship, the side have never failed to qualify for European football, experiencing heights that the Villans have not hit since the days of Martin O'Neill.
Yet, there is a sense that a team has not claimed a major honour for nearly three decades are stretching their limits. The PSR pinch has curbed the ambitions of the club, and last month, they received a £9.5 million fine from UEFA for breaching the bodies' regulations on squad management.
How different it could have been if the goal for Morgan Rogers counted against Manchester United and the side secured a spot in the Champions League for the second year in a row. Their European mastermind has ended up being back in his favourite realm on the continent, but even he is a mortal.
Have Villa peaked, or is there more magic to come in the Midlands? The next nine months will tell.
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2024/25 Season Recap
Aston Villa have raised the levels under Unai Emery, and the last year has reinforced those standards.
By the end of October, they were three for three in their first Champions League campaign, bringing back elite European football to Villa Park with a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich. On top of that, their only Premier League loss had been in August against Arsenal, and the team were in the top four.
Then came the phase that spoiled the season upon the final reckoning. The Villa exited the Carabao Cup against Crystal Palace, dropped to eighth place by the beginning of January, and had to wait for a 4-2 triumph over Celtic to secu re a spot in the top eight of the league phase in Europe.
Super sub Jhon Duran, who was knocking on the door of the starting spot for Ollie Watkins, walked out to sign for Al-Nassr. But the winter window would spark the squad into life. The board backed the boss with a purchase of Donyell Malen, then loaned in Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford.
By the start of April, they were back in the hunt for a finish in the top five, reached the final of the FA Cup, and were in the quarter-final of the Champions League. The players were doing Villa proud.
But it would end as a season of sorrow. Wembley Stadium saw Crystal Palace sweep past Villa, while a 3-2 second-leg victory over Paris Saint-Germain could not stop the eventual champions.
The route into the Champions League was in their reach, but a 2-0 loss at Old Trafford meant the 1-0 defeat for Newcastle United against Everton counted for nought. The Villans finished in sixth spot on the final matchday of the Premier League and had to live with Europa League qualification.
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Transfer activity
Written by Matthew Shotter
As modern transfer windows go, it has been a relatively quiet one at Villa Park, for both incomings and outgoings, with manager Unai Emery seemingly content with the squad he has already amassed.
However, there have still been one or two dealings, so let’s first look at those departing.
Academy graduate Kaine Kesler-Hayden has left the club to join Frank Lampard’s Coventry City. The 22-year-old spent last season on loan with Preston North End, where he won the club’s young player of the season award.
Experienced shot stopper Robin Olsen, who spent three years as second goalkeeper at the club, has returned to Sweden to join Malmö.
24-year-old Argentine Enzo Barrenechea joins Portuguese giants Benfica on a season-long loan. The former Juventus man spent last season with Valencia and is yet to play a game for Aston Villa.
Finally, Philippe Coutinho, who has not kicked a ball for the Villans since 2023, has permanently left the club, joining boyhood team Vasco da Gama, with whom he spent the previous season on loan.
As far as incomings go, there are only two. The first of which is Yasin Özcan. The defender joins from Kasımpaşa but has been immediately loaned out to Anderlecht.
But the most noteworthy acquisition is Ivorian international Evann Guessand. He operates primarily as a striker, impressing for Nice in Ligue 1 last season, scoring 12 goals and providing eight assists.
Many feel Villa have been a forward light since the winter departure of Jhon Durán, so this signing fills that void.
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One to Watch
Written by Kian Gadsby
If Aston Villa are to continue to successfully fight on multiple fronts, then Ivorian attacker Evann Guessand will be expected to play a crucial role.
The 24-year-old forward signed over the summer from OGC Nice, after enjoying a breakout season by notching 12 goals and gathering eight assists across the Ligue 1 campaign.
Such numbers prompted Unai Emery to shell out a reported £30 million on the relatively unproven striker, who only has three campaigns of senior football under his belt.
However, despite this inexperience, Guessand has the capability to thrive at Villa Park this season.
His proven goalscoring prowess from his superb campaign in France will worry opposing defenders, whilst his versatility makes him a crucial asset as he offers a threat from anywhere across the attack.
When considering underlying metrics, Guessand continues to shine.
Indeed, he ranked in the top quartile amongst Ligue 1 attackers for touches in the opposition box and expected goals, whilst his assists tally demonstrates his passing range.
Guessand is a rounded striker who has the potential to thrive in the Premier League. If he can successfully adapt to the division, then he will play a crucial role as Unai Emery’s side chase a return to the Champions League.
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The Strongest XI
Over the last few months, Emery has expressed that the "structure is the most important thing." By that, he has highlighted the importance of holding onto the players that are already in the building.
Tyrone Mings, Boubacar Kamara, and Lucas Digne have all renewed their deals with the club for at least the next two years. No major outgoings have occurred, allowing for continuity in the group.
Emi Martinez might have left this summer, but he has stayed put in the Midlands as the number one.
Ezri Konsa continued the momentum from EURO 2024 as one of the central defenders. He can also cover at right back in place of Matty Cash, but it is more likely that he gets the better of Tyrone Mings.
If fit, the other central defender should be Pau Torres. He is a fragile figure in duels for his height, but the Spaniard sets the tone for the team when they choose to build the play out from the back.
The options for the double pivot are some of the strongest in the squad.n Kamara is a solid screener with a good passing range, Youri Tielemans is the expert at putting the ball where he wants, and Amadou Onana is a ground-eating, tough tackler who pushes play forward and can score goals.
The Belgian may play ahead of the other two midfielders, but in such a role, the squad is stacked too. John McGinn is the club captain, while Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen have been in hot form.
The undisputed starter as the striker is Ollie Watkins. He had to battle with Duran and Rashford for minutes last term, but hit double-digit league goals for the fifth year in a row. He has netted five times in a much more constructive preseason phase than last year and will want to hit the ground running.
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Managerial Tactics
Emery has overseen 140 games in charge of the Villans. He has set his system and the squad with which he wants to execute his ideas. At this point in his reign, do not expect too much to change.
The Basque has four Europa League titles to his name, three in a row with Sevilla and one with Villarreal in seven years, and it is a feat that indicates where his strengths have shone as a manager.
The 53-year-old is a taskmaster. He trains a tight, organised 4-4-2 shape and is willing to drill his men to suffer in that setup without the ball against the best outfits. Defensive discipline neutered Bayern Munich and Manchester City, to name two teams, and it will be a part of the blueprint again.
Where he excels more than most is taking good or average players and teaching them the tools to take their game to the next level. Especially with the financial constraints on the club, they are unlikely to ever buy the stars to launch them into the top five for good. So what will be the marginal gains?
One area is the pet project, Guessand: players who get goals from wide positions and fit into a framework have worked well with Emery. He hesitated to use Watkins with Duran or Rashford, but the 29-year-old meshed with Moussa Diaby. If the Ivorian beds in nicely, he could be the difference.
The demand for fighting on four fronts is also a task Emery must embrace. His men dropped points in seven of the eight fixtures that followed a midweek match in the league phase of the Champions League. If the squad can better balance their efforts, they stand a chance of achieving their targets.
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Expectations
Written by Vikram Jajuha
Aston Villa head into the 2025/26 campaign with a burning desire to reclaim their spot among Europe’s elite after last season’s heartbreak, narrowly missing Champions League qualification. Unai Emery’s side have a habit of defying expectations, having previously punched above their weight to secure a top-four finish.
The sting of last season’s fade-out has lit a fire under the Villans, who are hell-bent on securing a Champions League return. However, the task is daunting. Heavy spending from rivals like Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool has raised the bar, while Villa’s squad has taken a hit with the departures of Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio.
The Villa faithful, starved of silverware since their 1996 League Cup triumph, are desperate for a trophy to call their own. With Newcastle and West Ham basking in recent glory, the Europa League looms as Villa’s golden ticket. Emery, a master of this competition with four titles to his name, makes his side a serious contender - some might even whisper that they are favourites. A deep FA Cup or Carabao Cup run, potentially a final at Wembley, will be on the wish list of fans for the new season.
Emery’s European pedigree certainly puts Villa on an even higher pedestal in the Europa League though. A top-six finish is the expectation, but Champions League qualification and a shot at silverware - especially in Europe - would mark a season to savour.
