Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has reportedly already outlined areas of his squad that he would like to strengthen in the summer transfer window.
Our current focus is undoubtedly on finishing the current campaign successfully, as we continue to pursue a top-four finish in the Premier League as well as silverware through the Europa Conference League.
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However, long-term planning is no doubt a vital and ongoing process as we identify and track potential transfer targets that Emery believes can significantly improve us moving forward.
It remains to be seen whether or not loanees Clement Lenglet and Nicolo Zaniolo stay beyond this season, but we will be buoyed by the returns of Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia next season, with the duo expected to miss the entire year due to injuries that they sustained last August.
Further, Boubacar Kamara and Jacob Ramsey will look to return stronger after their own respective injury setbacks, and so that will provide us with a significant boost of terms of quality and depth in the group.
Nevertheless, as we saw in January with Villa moving to sign Morgan Rogers, Kosta Nedeljkovic, Joe Gauci and Lino Sousa, there is a clear strategy to target talented youth players who can compliment what we already have and provide long-term solutions.
According to The Telegraph’s John Percy, although the club do have PSR concerns which means we may have to sell a key player to help balance the books, Emery is looking to bring in two central midfielders – a No.6 and a box-to-box option – wingers and a striker, albeit the latter would be in the ‘unlikely event’ that Ollie Watkins departs this summer for a massive fee.
Emery will no doubt emphasise and prioritise the importance of keeping the core of his current group together, as we’ve seen the improvement he can make to the options at his disposal. In turn, it’s hoped that particularly with the possibility of qualifying for the Champions League, we will firstly be in a position where we don’t have to sell first in order to strengthen.
Time will tell how the situation plays out, but it’s a sign of where we’re at now that we seemingly have a clear plan and strategy in terms of where we need to improve and who could be the right signings. As we saw with the addition of Rogers in January, Emery knows what he needs and can identify talent that fits his tactical ideas, style of play and structure, and that’s the hallmark of building a successful squad.