With most of the Aston Villa squad now back for pre-season training, Unai Emery has some important decisions to make this summer.
It’s been a busy transfer window thus far with a string of new arrivals as well as a number of departures, with the Villa boss continuing to mould this squad into his own.
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While we enjoyed a brilliant campaign last year with a fourth-place Premier League finish and a run to the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League, Emery will no doubt be relishing the opportunity to try and improve his Villa squad further, bringing in players more suited to his style of play and structure.
That in turn will hopefully help with the process of implementing his preferred ideas, but with that comes some key decisions in terms of how the group is constructed to ensure we not only have enough quality, but also the depth to be able to compete across multiple fronts.
Solidifying our position at the top end of the Premier League table will be a priority again, as will being competitive in the Champions League. However, we’ve also heard from the boss and his players how important winning a trophy is too as they look to write their names into the club’s history books.
So, what will be some of the main topics of discussion in the coming weeks that Emery will ultimately have to decide upon?
Who is our No.2 behind Emi Martinez?
Having signed Joe Gauci in January, the Australian international had the second half of last season to adapt and acclimatise to his new surroundings and understand what the Villa boss is demanding from him.
Robin Olsen still has a year left on his contract and was our back-up option behind Emiliano Martinez last season, but will there be a shifting of the pecking order this summer?
Martinez won’t be back for a while given his international duty exploits with Argentina, and so it will be fascinating to see if Gauci gets the nod for more playing time to potentially prepare him for a bigger role, or if the likes of Viljami Sinisalo and Filip Marschall are in the mix.
Will Cash fend off young rivals at right-back?
Matty Cash is another senior player under pressure this summer, as with Kosta Nedeljkovic joining up with the Villa squad and Kaine Kesler-Hayden still part of the group, could one of them displace him?
Given their inexperience, that seems unlikely. However, they’ll both be battling to become the preferred depth option, and they’ll get chances to impress over pre-season.
Cash has been working diligently even before reporting back to Bodymoor Heath as he’ll know he faces a fight to keep his spot, as speculation this summer has also paired us with a move for another right-back in a possible reshuffle.
Digne or Alex Moreno to go?
After spending big to prise Ian Maatsen away from Chelsea, the Dutchman is expected to come in as Emery’s preferred option at left-back given what he can provide on that flank in both phases.
Samuel Iling-Junior adds more competition as a wing-back option and time will tell what Emery develops him into, and so it appears to be getting over-crowded in that left-back department with Alex Moreno and Lucas Digne still part of the group.
The expectation is that at least one of them will move on, and although Emery will likely have a clear idea on who he is more open to losing already, both will be pushing to prove their worth in the coming weeks.
Are Mings and Buendia on track to get back to same level?
Having missed the entirety of last season, it has been such a boost to see both Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia back in group training to start the summer.
They will both now be targeting minutes over pre-season to build up their fitness levels and get their match sharpness back, but time will tell if they ultimately look the same players.
It seems highly unlikely that in the event that they perhaps look a bit short that Villa will be ruthless enough to look for replacements, but it could determine how big a role they have in the new season.
How will our midfield shape up without Luiz and Kamara?
There’s still question marks and doubts over certain players in the squad who could yet leave, with our defence and attack potentially seeing more changes.
Similarly, reinforcements in midfield might still arrive too, but what we do know for sure at this stage is that we’ll have to find a way of coping without Douglas Luiz, and Boubacar Kamara until he’s back from injury.
John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Ross Barkley, Enzo Barrenechea and until he likely leaves again, Leander Dendoncker, will all be available to Emery later this month, and so it will be fascinating to see which combinations he uses to work out what is his strongest midfield quartet.
Given how influential Luiz was for us, particularly in possession once he moved into a more advanced role, that is going to be a big void to fill. That said, there’s plenty of confidence in Emery’s ability to find the answers needed.
