Aston Villa face crucial decisions over a number of players this summer, particularly those who are currently out on loan this season.
It promises to be another busy transfer window for the club as we not only try to strengthen Unai Emery’s squad and become more competitive, but also find the right balance once again to ensure that we don’t breach PSR.
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Sales could come from various places, whether that’s sacrificing another key individual who would attract big-money offers, or trying to trim the current squad of those who no longer feature in Emery’s long-term plans.
Ideally, it would be the latter strategy and that would be enough, but much hinges on whether or not there is sufficient interest and suitable offers coming in for those players.
According to The Athletic, there is one particularly key decision to be made on Enzo Barrenechea, with the 23-year-old excelling during his loan spell with Valencia having made 28 appearances so far this season and established himself as an important figure for them.
However, it’s noted that given the current competition for places in our midfield, the Argentine talent has to prove he can perform at the very top level, and so with interest said to have been shown in him from Valencia and other clubs regarding a permanent move, it remains to be seen if Emery feels as though he’s ready to integrate into his squad and we move on another player, or if we feel the profit on Barrenechea makes him the top candidate to depart.
It would certainly be a shame to see him leave permanently as he’s another top talent that we haven’t seen given a real chance at Villa, but time will tell if he does get an opportunity this summer in pre-season.
Elsewhere, the Athletic also report that Emiliano Buendia and Leander Dendoncker can leave with both having an option to buy included in their loan deals at Bayer Leverkusen and Anderlecht respectively, but again, much will depend on the desire of those two clubs to sign them outright if they feel they’ve done enough to deserve a move.
With neither likely to have a future with us having fallen down the pecking order, it seems like the most sensible outcome for all concerned to part ways, but time will tell if it will be that straight-forward this summer, and the same goes for Alex Moreno, with Villa said to be open to offers for the Spaniard off the back of his time with Nottingham Forest.
Another player who falls into the same category as Barrenechea though is Kaine Kesler-Hayden, who has been hugely impressive during his loan stint with Preston North End this year, as he swept up at the club’s end-of-season awards ceremony and continues to deliver on his potential.
It’s an easy way to make a profit as his value should have increased significantly and he’s a homegrown player, and so we’ve seen Villa cash in in similar situations with the likes of Tim Iroegbunam, Aaron Ramsey and Cameron Archer in recent transfer windows.
However, particularly with our need to address the right-back position, an argument could be made in favour of giving Kesler-Hayden a chance at senior level having come through our youth ranks, but much like the decisions above, it will come down to Emery’s preference on how he wants to build a squad capable of competing for major honours in the coming years, and who fits that vision the most effectively.
