Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has insisted that he’s happy with our business in the summer transfer window, with no further incomings expected ahead of Friday’s deadline.
It’s been a busy summer for Villa given we’ve brought in Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen, Jaden Philogene and Ross Barkley to bolster our squad, while Samuel Iling-Junior, Enzo Barrenechea and Lewis Dobbin were also signed but are all set to spend this season on loan elsewhere.
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Our January signing, Kosta Nedeljkovic, has also joined up with the squad now, and coupled with key individuals returning from injury, the Villa squad looks to be in a healthier position compared to last season, provided we can keep our core group healthy throughout the campaign.
Naturally, there will be some fans who are disappointed that we couldn’t further strengthen the squad and perhaps we are one or two short, but particularly given our PSR and SCR concerns that have influenced our strategy and planning, it feels as though we’ve done the best we could in the circumstances.
That in turn has also involved balancing our books and making big decisions on departures, and although we’ll miss the likes of Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby, it’s hoped that we’re now a more well-rounded group capable of competing across multiple fronts over the course of a gruelling campaign.
Emery, as always, offered no complaints or negative feedback, as the Villa boss reiterated his happiness with the transfer business done, while he re-emphasised the importance of the return of our injured players who missed much of last season.
“I’m very happy because we did many things we were planning at the beginning,” Emery told the media, as per the Athletic. “The squad we have now with some very important players like Tyrone Mings, Boubacar Kamara and Emiliano Buendia are coming back progressively and feeling good.
“Last year, Jacob Ramsey didn’t play consistently and hopefully this year he can be consistent with what he was showing us (in the first season) and even increase his level. And the other players we have added to the squad, I am very happy.
“The last two players we were trying to take a decision with them was Enzo Barrenechea and he left yesterday to Valencia on loan. The second was Leander Dendoncker and I think he is leaving today. The deal is not 100 per cent but hopefully he can play, get some consistency and show his good level.”
On the basis of what we’ve seen so far in our opening two Premier League games and our bench in those outings, Emery has continued to assemble and mould this squad into his own, and he has seemingly built a more robust, younger, taller and more tactically flexible unit to carry out his instructions more effectively.
With the Champions League and domestic cups to come still, time will tell if we’ve got enough quality and depth to manage the demands of the season, but the Villa boss sounds happy enough with what he’s got to work with, as he may well continue to relish working with a smaller squad to get the best out of those at his disposal once again to build on last year.
