Aston Villa legend Gabby Agbonlahor has shared a bold prediction ahead of the upcoming 2024/25 campaign.
The 2023/24 season will be difficult to beat in terms of the joy it restored at Villa Park, as Unai Emery guided Aston Villa to a fourth-place finish.
Remarkably, it was the Spaniard’s first full campaign in charge of the squad that will now play in the Champions League in 2024/25.
It’s been a busy summer preparing for the glorious challenges that await the Midlands side in the upcoming season, but can Villa keep up the momentum?
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Gabby Agbonlahor makes Aston Villa top four prediction ahead of 2024/25 Premier League season
Villa were present in the top-four race for almost the entirety of last season, as Emery led his squad to the club’s highest-ever Premier League points tally.
The Villans beat the likes of Manchester United and Spurs to a place in the top four, joining Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool near the summit.
While Villa deserved to finish where they did, club legend Gabby Agbonlahor has admitted that he has some reservations about whether his former side can complete such feat again.
Speaking about the upcoming Premier League season on talkSPORT, Villa’s record goalscorer in the league gave his reasons for thinking it will be “harder” for Emery’s side next term.
“I will be honest, mate. I don’t think my team will be in it [top four], Aston Villa. I think next season will be harder. Teams will get better. The Champions League run that we are going to be on will be hard on the players as well.”
It will be fascinating to see how Abgonlahor’s bold prediction stands this time next year, with his opinion something that Villa fans won’t appreciate in this instance.
Villa can grow with top four competitors next season
While Agbonlahor’s statement on other team’s getting better rings true, the same applies for Villa, who have shown huge progression since Emery’s arrival in 2022.
The Spaniard has carried his side from 16th to seventh, and seventh to fourth in his opening year and a half at the club, with plenty more to achieve yet.
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The start of the summer transfer window has also been a strong point for the Villans, who are showing no sign of complacency after hitting their goal of reaching the Champions League.
Yes, other teams are doing the same although, we’ve seen first-hand just how far Emery can take the squad, with the Champions League schedule nothing to be scared of having survived last term playing on Thursdays in the Europa Conference League.
It will be interesting to see how the top four shapes up when the 2024/25 season concludes, in what is set to be a thrilling campaign in the English top flight.
