Five Reasons to be Cheerful as Villans – Preseason Begins
After arguably the best season Aston Villa have enjoyed in a generation, Unai Emery’s squad has returned to Bodymoor Heath after a well-earned summer break. They’ve barely had time to unpack the sun cream before the squad has already undergone some serious surgery, and there’s every chance more arrivals and departures are still to come.
With the World Cup now behind us and attention turning back to the bread and butter of club football, here are the latest Five Reasons to be Cheerful as Villans.
Financial Freedom
The departures of Lucas Digne and Youri Tielemans came as a genuine surprise. Add Morgan Rogers’ £117m blockbuster move to Chelsea and, while losing players of that calibre is never ideal, it may provide Villa with exactly what they have been lacking: flexibility.
Over the past two seasons, Emery has transformed Villa into one of Europe’s most competitive sides despite operating with one hand tied behind his back by PSR and Squad Cost Rules. Those restrictions have dictated recruitment almost as much as footballing needs.
The outgoing deals, together with the likelihood of a few more high earners leaving, should finally give Roberto Olabe and Emery the room to reshape the squad properly rather than simply patching holes. Sometimes you have to take one step sideways before taking two forwards.
Fresh Faces
The arrivals of Johan Manzambi and João Gomes, coupled with strong links to João Palhinha and Pervis Estupiñán, suggest Villa are refreshing both the age profile and the tactical options available to Emery.
Continuity remains important. You don’t qualify for the Champions League by ripping everything up and starting again. But with so many players inherited from the Dean Smith and Steven Gerrard eras still featuring in Istanbul in May, evolution always felt inevitable.
The early business has been encouraging, but replacing the quality that has left the building won’t be easy. Villa still look in need of at least two, and probably three, genuine attacking additions if they are to improve on last season rather than simply stand still.
Time to Shine
This is Roberto Olabe’s first real opportunity to stamp his authority on Aston Villa’s recruitment.
After an underwhelming final year under Monchi, Olabe arrives with an enviable reputation, having played key roles in the recruitment of Alexander Isak, Mikel Merino, David Silva, Martin Ødegaard and Takefusa Kubo during his time in Spain.
Champions League football remains a huge attraction and, for perhaps the first time in Emery’s reign, Villa appear to have enough financial breathing space to attack the market with purpose rather than desperation. If last summer felt like shopping five minutes before the supermarket closed, this one already feels considerably more organised.
Opportunity Knocks
Opportunity Knocks
For clubs outside the traditional financial elite, sustained Champions League qualification changes everything.
Villa have already seen the commercial benefits of Europe’s premier competition, but the real prize is consistency. Qualifying once is a significant achievement; qualifying in consecutive seasons transforms the club’s finances. Broadcasting already made up 64 per cent of Villa’s revenue in the last published accounts, more than any other Premier League club, and this season’s Champions League qualification alone lifts Villa’s share of UEFA’s value pillar, which rewards a club’s UEFA coefficient. One more European qualification next season would give Villa a coefficient rating based on a full five-season period.
Villa narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification on goal difference the season before last, before putting things right last time out. Should Emery guide his side back into Europe’s top table again, the club will be far less reliant on balancing the books through unwanted player sales and financial gymnastics every June and July.
Battle at the Bescot
Nothing signals the return of football quite like an evening at the Bescot Stadium.
Just two months after Villa painted Istanbul claret and blue, another season begins with the annual pilgrimage to the Bescot. The World Cup player contingent will still be enjoying an extended break, but supporters will get their first glimpse of the new arrivals, emerging academy talent and perhaps one or two players with a point to prove. They’ll also get the chance to say preseason phrases like “minutes in the tank”.
The results, of course, are largely irrelevant. We’ll all still overreact anyway.
UTV
Follow Armen on Twitter/X here – @VillanArmen
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