It promises to be a summer like no other at Aston Villa as Unai Emery prepares for a right good go in his first full season in charge.
The head coach, nominated for Premier League manager of the season after his incredible seven-month spell, will oversee an influx of top-quality players who’ll add depth and pedigree to Villa’s squad.
Villa hold an interest in the likes of Marco Asensio, Nico Williams, Matteo Guendouzi, Harvey Barnes and Manuel Ugarte to name just a few. However, Emery has since made the point of already having his “most important players here now” given the performances of star players such as Emi Martinez, Tyrone Mings, John McGinn and Douglas Luiz.
It was put to Emery how signing too many this summer could in fact harm Villa given their incredible rise in such a short space of time, while the boss seemed to suggest Cameron Archer could well be intention to feature more frequently next season.
Emery said: “I believe in the players we have now. Always we have to improve and change something, and we did in December. Some players who were on loan like [Cameron] Archer, the circumstances is, by playing more he is coming back as a better player and more experienced. That’s the way. We will analyse each [player] situation after Sunday.”
With Ollie Watkins missing out on England selection this week despite a return of 12 goals across his last 18 matches, Emery has challenged his striker to force his way back into Gareth Southgate’s thinking next season.
Leave a Reply