Aston Villa’s squad for the Europa League has seemingly been confirmed, and Ross Barkley doesn’t appear to have been included.
Unai Emery’s side will begin our European adventure at home against Bologna on September 25, and it’s hoped that we’re able to get the necessary results to advance from the League Phase and keep our hopes of silverware alive.
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It will be a competition that we undoubtedly take very seriously given the opportunity to win a trophy, but also knowing that it’s a pathway to returning to the Champions League.
In turn, it’s no surprise that we’ve named a strong squad, but as per UEFA’s site, there is no room for Barkley.
Emery was able to select 25 players for his List A squad, four of which must be club-trained players who have been registered with the club for at least three seasons between the ages of 15 and 21. Further, four additional places are reserved for associated-trained players, who have been registered with another club in the same FA, while the same criteria above applies to them too.
It’s expected that Lamare Bogarde has been named in Villa’s List B squad and he’ll still be eligible to play in the Europa League, but that meant that one player in the senior squad was set to miss on the final 21-man cut given we have 23 players in our first-team currently listed, and it looks as though Barkley has been left out.
Given his injury troubles, which date back to last season, but have also prevented him from featuring in our opening three Premier League games of this campaign, it’s understandable as why Emery would come to that decision, as he needs reliable options at his disposal who will be durable enough for what promises to be a gruelling campaign.
Summer signings Marco Bizot, Evann Guessand, Victor Lindelof, Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott all make the squad list as per UEFA, and this is the Villa squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez, Marco Bizot
Defenders: Matty Cash, Victor Lindelof, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Lucas Digne, Pau Torres, Andres Garcia, Ian Maatsen
Midfielders: John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Jadon Sancho, Amadou Onana, Boubacar Kamara
Forwards: Harvey Elliott, Emiliano Buendia, Ollie Watkins, Donyell Malen, Morgan Rogers, Evann Guessand
We’re likely to hear from Emery after the international break and the Villa boss may well confirm his reasoning for the decision, but much like the choice to leave Malen out of our Champions League squad last season, he’ll have made it in the best interests of the club in our bid to enjoy a deep run in the Europa League this year, and hopefully go on to win the competition.
Barkley, if he can stay fit, will still have an important role to play this year in the Premier League and domestic cups, but that question mark seemingly continues to linger over the midfield stalwart, as he has to stay healthy to have a chance of forcing his way up the pecking order with Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans undoubtedly ahead of him.
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