While every Aston Villa player will want to impress next season, there are arguably five in particular who will have a key point to prove to Unai Emery.
Although we were able to qualify for European football for a third consecutive season and will compete in the Europa League next year, there was ultimately a sense of disappointment over how our campaign played out.
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While we fell short to the eventual Champions League winners and the best team in the competition in Paris Saint-Germain, our FA Cup semi-final loss to Crystal Palace and our final day of the season no-show at Manchester United which cost us a return to Europe’s premier competition will still sting for many.
In turn, we face an uncertain summer as we await outgoings and incomings to be confirmed not only to try and strengthen Emery’s squad, but to address our PSR and SCR concerns and ensure we don’t face any sanctions domestically or in Europe.
Assuming that those discussed below do stay beyond this summer, they will feel as though they have a real point to prove next season in order to cement their respective places in Emery’s long-term plans.
Ian Maatsen
Having displaced Lucas Digne towards the end of last season to emerge as our first-choice left-back, Maatsen has set the foundation for himself to really make that position his own next year.
Time will tell if it’s Digne or a new face that is providing competition for him amid speculation of a possible exit for the Frenchman as a potential PSR-driven sacrifice, but the expectation is that we’re going to see Maatsen take that jump next season.
We’ve seen others drastically improve in their second season under Emery, and the Dutchman will be hoping to firmly establish himself as a fixture in the side moving forward, provided he’s able to continue to improve the defensive side of his game to complement what he brings offensively.
Andres Garcia
On the opposite side of our backline, there is still a lingering itch over whether or not we can improve at right-back as Matty Cash continues to struggle to entirely convince.
The Polish international is capable of going on strong runs of form to suggest that he’s more than capable of doing the job, but he’ll have games or moments in which he struggles to really dismiss those question marks.
In turn, there has to be a window of opportunity for Garcia this summer in pre-season and heading into the new campaign, and if he can prove that he’s adapted and taken on board what it is Emery wants from him consistently, he’ll be pushing hard to displace Cash in our starting XI.
Ross Barkley
The 31-year-old was seen as a really savvy acquisition last summer, as with his experience, technical ability and fit for the team, he was potentially going to be a vital tactical option to have at Emery’s disposal.
Although he made 30 appearances across all competitions, scoring four goals and providing two assists, injuries blighted his campaign from mid-January onwards, and that was hard for him and the team as we needed him through that run.
Dependent on whether or not he is sold this summer, Barkley will feel as though he’s got so much more to offer Villa still, and as we still look to compete on multiple fronts, we’ll certainly need him.
Donyell Malen
Signed in January, the Dutch forward scored three goals in 17 appearances in the second half of last season, albeit he totalled just 392 minutes of football.
Having also been left out of our Champions League squad, it would have been a difficult settling-in period for him, but he showed glimpses of his quality off the bench in games and he’ll be desperate to become a prominent figure next season.
With doubts over whether or not either Marcus Rashford or Marco Asensio sign permanently with us, that should clear a path for Malen to be more involved, and he may well have a little chip on his shoulder to now showcase his quality and prove why he should have been given more chances last season.
Jacob Ramsey
There are still concerns that he may move on this summer amid our PSR issues, and so time will tell if he’s still at the club when the new campaign gets underway in August.
As one of our own, there has always been, and will be, a strong desire to see Ramsey thrive in a Villa shirt, but he has struggled to do so over the past two seasons.
Last year, he contributed four goals and seven assists in 46 games. In the 2023/24 campaign, he had one goal and two assists in 21 outings. The season before that, he flourished under Emery and arguably played his best football.
Coupled with the fact that he’s now 24 years of age, Ramsey has to stay fit next season and showcase his quality on a regular basis through consistent goal contributions.
His movement, ability to find pockets of space, tactical intelligence and work ethic all make him an important player to have, but we want, and need, more from him now, and hopefully next season is a real break-out year for him to go to the next level and match the development and improvement we’re seeing in someone like Morgan Rogers.
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