With Aston Villa still dealing with PSR issues through to June 30, it has unsurprisingly had a negative knock-on effect on our transfer plans in terms of incomings this month.
While Zepiqueno Redmond is set to arrive next month, the signing of an 18-year-old prospect isn’t exactly all that Unai Emery is hoping to see this summer to improve and strengthen his squad.
READ MORE: Negotiations touted as exit talk for key Villa ace shows no sign of abating
Such is the predicament we face though in having to balance our books and lower our wage bill, the focus is on finding solutions through outgoings for now, before there’s a reset later this summer and we’ll likely step up our pursuits of priority targets.
That said, we’re also seeing touted transfer targets move elsewhere having missed out on Sverre Nypan, and so it remains to be seen what the market looks like by the time we’re in a position to acquire players.
In his last pre-match press conference last season, something that Emery said stuck. “If we keep the same players for next year, I will be very happy and maybe my holidays will be better. We have to be alert for different situations. Hopefully we can keep players we have here now & if someone is leaving we’re going to try & change with same level.”
There was seemingly a very clear emphasis on being content with having the same players, albeit no coach would say no to reinforcements arriving to make their life easier having alternative solutions and options at their disposal.
It could also have been said with foresight to how June might play out for us, and so if incomings are going to be limited to July onwards, Emery will want to bring in players who can make the group better and not just add numbers for the sake of it.
With so many factors to consider, it’s a complicated and delicate situation for the Villa hierarchy and Basque coach, but there could be internal solutions that present themselves in the coming weeks when the players return for pre-season training at the start of next month.
Many will argue that Emiliano Buendia hasn’t proven himself to be good enough to deliver at this level consistently enough, and that’s a fair assessment. However, after the devastating injury he suffered on the eve of the 2023/24 campaign, his momentum was entirely derailed after being a regular fixture in the Villa XI following Emery’s arrival, and so his loan stint with Bayer Leverkusen was arguably the best option for all concerned.
At 28 years of age and with two years remaining on his current Villa contract, this is a critical point in Buendia’s career. There’s every chance he moves on and this becomes a redundant argument, but if Villa have to reduce our wage bill given it’s currently miles off being at a sustainable, and acceptable, level in relation to UEFA’s SCR regulations, it’s questionable if we can afford to bring Marco Asensio back.
That leaves a void in our attacking unit, and depending on how much we have to spend this summer and what positions Emery sees as priorities, could Buendia get a second shot as our back-up playmaker behind Morgan Rogers as we compete across multiple fronts? It could, and probably is, be wishful thinking from someone who remains desperate for it to work out for the Argentine ace, but time will tell if the pieces fall into place for it to materialise.
Meanwhile, the same could be said of Enzo Barrenechea, who as things stand, will return to Bodymoor Heath next month off the back of an impressive loan spell with Valencia.
The 24-year-old made a positive impression on many of us in pre-season last year, but the decision was made for him to go out and gain experience and develop his game further, and he certainly did that with a key role for the La Liga side.
This one is equally as complicated given the competition for places we currently have in that department, as Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara, Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana are all vying for a starting spot.
That said, speculation has raised question marks over the futures of Kamara and Onana in particular, and so were a spot to open up, it surely should be Barrenechea who gets the chance to step up and prove himself rather than Villa spending on another defensive midfielder when we have other areas to address with more urgency.
There remains a lot of uncertainty over how this transfer window is going to play out for us, as firstly, exits are needed to avoid being sanctioned for breaching PSR. Secondly, the wage bill needs to come down, and all that needs to happen while trying to build a more competitive squad for next season. Whether it’s by choice or forced upon him as the purse strings might be tightened, Emery could have two solutions to strengthen his squad already at his disposal in Buendia and Barrenechea next season.
🥹 Bring them back 🇦🇷🟣🔵#avfc #UTV pic.twitter.com/1mYRtQJ16T
— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) June 12, 2025
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