Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has conceded that it was difficult to leave Donyell Malen out of our Champions League squad for the remainder of the campaign.
As per UEFA rules, Villa were permitted to add three players to our squad for the knockout phase of the competition, and that produced a selection headache for Emery after we made five new signings in the January transfer window.
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While Andres Garcia’s exclusion was understandable given his lack of experience at that level, there would have been a real conundrum over who would be the second player to miss out, and it ultimately proved to be Malen, meaning our two permanent signings were left out.
Unsurprisingly, Emery conceded that the Dutchman found it a difficult decision to accept, but he will hope that their discussion will ensure that the 26-year-old makes a significant contribution with so much still to play for across the Premier League and FA Cup.
“It was not easy, the conversation with him. It is not fair but the rules pushed us to take the decision and I explained to him why we took it,” Emery is quoted as saying by the Express and Star. Of course, he accepted but it is not easy for him to be with us now and not playing in Champions League.
“But we have other objectives, the FA Cup and also the Premier League as a priority.
“Today he was training well and of course he is going to play hopefully for a long time here and hopefully in the Champions League for the next years.
“How we are now in the squad with some centre backs not being available and being injured. I spoke with him and tried to be honest and knowing it was not fair for him. But the decision I had to take was in that direction.”
While it was out of Villa’s hands to an extent, it does put pressure on Emery, Axel Disasi, Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford to prove that it was the most sensible decision.
Given our current injury problems in defence with Matty Cash, Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres sidelined, the inclusion of Disasi makes sense as we need competition and cover to ensure we’re not forced to continue fielding Boubacar Kamara in our backline against some of the top teams around Europe.
Asensio’s experience and previous success in this competition as a three-time winner with Real Madrid will hopefully make him an indispensable presence in the squad, while Rashford has a big point to prove between now and the end of the season to either earn a permanent move to Villa or resurrect his career elsewhere.
There’s no denying how tricky this decision would have been for Emery, but it’s hoped that Malen reacts positively moving forward despite the disappointment as he’ll have a key role to play domestically, while his teammates must deliver having been given the nod to feature in Europe.
