When the Aston Villa squad reconvenes for pre-season this summer, a trio of our most talented youngsters will be pushing to cement their place in Unai Emery’s plans.
With Villa looking to compete across four competitions next season, including the Champions League, the need for strength in depth and balance in the squad will be fundamental for Emery.
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Trying to solidify ourselves as a top-four club in the Premier League while competing with the best sides around Europe will be a mammoth task for our senior and more established players, who will once again have to put in major shifts next season to ensure we stay at a high level in what will be another gruelling campaign.
Naturally, the hope is that we’ll strengthen in this transfer window to help them do that, and reinforcements are undoubtedly expected in the coming weeks and months to ensure we’re a stronger group by the end of the summer.
Further, there is also the concern and threat of PSR, which will likely require a balancing of our books and spending, and selling our top youth talents will no doubt make the biggest impact in achieving that objective.
However, having had several months this past season to adapt, learn and understand Emery’s demands, to settle and feel comfortable in the senior group and establish themselves as respected options off the bench, three of our top talents will hope to build on that experience and kick on next season.
Kaine Kesler-Hayden, who was recalled from his loan spell in January, Tim Iroegbunam, who spent last season with us after a successful loan stint of his own the previous campaign, and Omari Kellyman, who has evidently made an impression on the Villa boss despite his inexperience, are all primed to give us that balance next year.
As noted above, there is of course a chance that they are sold or loaned out, but bringing in reinforcements is an expensive task too, and so if we can fill out our squad with talented young players who come through our own ranks and who are capable of making a positive impression, it will surely be something that Emery is considering.
Kesler-Hayden, 21, only managed nine minutes last season but he’ll be targeting our pre-season schedule this summer as a chance to prove he’s ready for the next step, while Kellyman, 18, and Iroegbunam, 20, combined for 417 minutes of senior playing time this past season, and will be desperate for more.
Emery will know better than anyone who is capable of making it at the level required of those that come through our youth system, and he’ll be meticulous is analysing and assessing who gives him the best possible chance of competing and reaching the level he demands.
The fact that the trio above have all been in and around the senior squad will have given the Villa boss plenty of time to observe and make his assessments, and it’s hoped that in order to add balance and depth next season as we’ll need to rotate and have these options for the league and domestic cups in particular, we’ll see these three kick on and produce for us when needed.