Unai Emery thanked four departing Aston Villa players for their services to the squad.
Since he started coaching the club in November 2022, the Basque boss has taken the team to unparalleled heights in the 21st Century. They have enjoyed European football for four successive seasons, reaching the Champions League twice, and lifted the Europa League trophy in May.
‘I am delighted with everything we did together’
But all good things come to an end. Lucas Digne has gone back to Paris Saint-Germain, £117 million man Morgan Rogers is the British record signing at Chelsea, and Youri Tielemans moved to Manchester United for £35 million. Ezri Konsa is also on the verge of signing for Arsenal.
The quartet have made good on their potential, receiving public praise from their former head coach.
“I am delighted with everything we did together. Some players are leaving: Konsa is close to leaving, and I am happy for him. I am for other players when they are leaving. Why? Because when we arrived here, they were performing up and down, not a lot at a high level, competing for something like we did after it.
“They deserve it, because they are players who had a huge commitment and the necessary discipline to work hard and get it. They were always being so, so responsible and so, so respectful of everything. Lucas Digne, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers, I am so, so grateful.
“I learned a lot with those players: how we were setting our standard and they were always there; how we pushed teammates to be consistent, and when we are being successful, the consequences can happen like they happened this summer. They are leaving because they are thinking they must get another challenge in their career.
“I am so, so happy and delighted with how they did it. There are other players who are going to continue here with us and the challenges we have. We’ve replaced those players with other players, in a similar situation to when we arrived here. Lucas Digne was coming from Everton, and he was not being in a high level because he was not in his national team and I was not so happy with how he was performing.
“After we were setting our standard, he did it. He deserved how he was coming back to Paris Saint-Germain again. Konsa is more or less the same situation; Morgan Rogers, we signed him from the Championship, and his progression was really fantastic, always very disciplined and professional in everything. Youri Tielemans is another very good example.”
