Aston Villa are reportedly looking to seal contract extensions for Boubacar Kamara, Youri Tielemans and Tyrone Mings to secure their long-term futures.
It’s an important week for Villa as we prepare to face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday in our final game of the Premier League season, knowing that we must win and hope a result elsewhere goes our way to secure Champions League football for next season.
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While the outcome of the campaign will likely influence and shape what we do in the summer transfer window, planning has to start sooner, and Unai Emery, Monchi and the rest of the management team will no doubt be devising strategies for various scenarios.
One of the key jobs for them at the end of the season will be to secure the futures of our current core players, whether that’s with individuals who will soon see their contracts expire, or those who have warranted improved terms and must be rewarded to ensure that we keep them and continue to build around them.
According to The Telegraph, Kamara is in advanced talks over his new contract, while the club are tipped to offer a new deal to Tielemans to reward him after an impressive campaign. As for Mings, with just over a year remaining on his current agreement, Villa are expected to hold talks to extend his stay with us too.
Both Kamara, 25, and Tielemans, 28, are under contract at Villa until June 2027, and so there isn’t necessarily an immediate threat of losing them as they aren’t even entering the final 12 months of their deals.
That said, particularly depending on whether or not we secure a top-five finish or not, the club may face increasing financial pressure to sell, and so agreeing on new contracts will be a major indication of who they don’t wish to lose any time soon, or they may want to strengthen our position at the negotiating table if a sale is necessary.
In the case of both Kamara and Tielemans though, it’s absolutely vital we keep the heart of our midfield in place for the foreseeable future, if possible.
It’s unlikely that anything official will be announced before this weekend, but it’s hoped that once we’ve secured our place at Europe’s top table for consecutive seasons, we can quickly agree new deals with key players, thus allowing Monchi and his team to get on with the business of balancing our books and strengthening Emery’s squad where possible for the remainder of the summer transfer window.