Gabby Agbonlahor has now explained what is so different about Aston Villa compared to when he was at the club.
Since NSWE took over from Tony Xia in 2018, Aston Villa have been transformed into a European powerhouse that has disrupted the Premier League’s ‘big six’.
From arriving when Villa were in the Championship to now battling at the top of the table, it’s been an incredible transformation in five years, spearheaded by the appointment of Unai Emery in November last year.
The Spaniard has taken them from relegation battlers to title contenders in the space of a year and although a lot of that success is down to Emery himself, their recruitment deserves a lot of credit.
During their time in charge, the owners have pumped a lot of money into the club and brought in a whole host of talent who are currently starring in the first team.
Ollie Watkins, Douglas Luiz, John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara and Emiliano Martinez, in particular, were all recruited by NSWE and have all played major roles in their meteoric rise towards the top.
Whilst supporters are currently basking in their team’s success, it hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows, especially when Gabby Agbonlahor was the club.
After spending 13 years at BS6 between 2005 and 2018, the former Villa striker has explained what the key differences are between how the club was run back then compared to now.
Gabby Agbonlahor outlines what is so ‘special’ about Aston Villa
Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “The difference now to when I was playing under Martin O’Neill is that everyone was up for sale.
“Look at how we lost, it was Gareth Barry, it was Milner, it was Young, it was Downing. Then it was Benteke and Delph. Now it’s not like that, Jack Grealish had a release clause so it was different but Watkins is not for sale. Douglas Luiz, not for sale. Arsenal, go somewhere else.
“They have multi billion pound owners mate, we don’t need that money. The club is settled and I just think something special is happening at Aston Villa.”
Villa’s dramatic tumble into the Championship stemmed from selling the talent who brought them Europa League qualification in 2009 and failing to replace them.
As Agbonlahor mentioned, the likes of Barry, James Milner and Ashley Young were all offloaded without significant replacements and this damaged the club over time.
In the present day, however, supporters are thankful to see such a policy get thrown out the window.
This has been emphasized by them rejecting the advances of Arsenal, who outlined their interest in Luiz, but now know they’ll have to pay a triple figure sum to stand any chance of luring him to the Emirates.
It’s a fantastic time to be a Villa fan. They’ve got a world-class manager, a realistic chance of finishing in the top four – or even winning the title – and a group of talented players in no danger of departing the club anytime soon.
