Aston Villa have made seven signings already this summer and Gabby Agbonlahor has warned one particular arrival that he is unlikely to start under Unai Emery.
Unai Emery will leave no stone unturned as he looks to prepare his Aston Villa squad for a season in which they will compete in the Champions League whilst trying to maintain their Premier League progress.
The Villa boss saw his side weakened by the sale of Douglas Luiz to Juventus in a move that was necessary to comply with Premier League spending rules ahead of the 30th June PSR deadline.
However, he has since signed three central midfielders to replace Luiz, with Ross Barkley, Enzo Barrenechea and, most recently, Amadou Onana all arriving to fill the void left by the Brazilian.
- READ MORE: Amadou Onana names the one player who played a ‘big part’ in him joining Aston Villa from Everton
This has made midfield a very congested area for Villa and Gabby Agbonlahor has issued a warning to one of the new arrivals.
Gabby Agbonlahor doesn’t think Ross Barkley starts for Aston Villa
Barkley, Barrenechea and Onana join the likes of John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara as options for Emery in centre midfield.
Kamara is currently sidelined with the ACL injury he sustained in February but is expected to return a couple of months into the new season.
Agbonlahor has been speaking about Villa’s midfield options and revealed he feels Barkley could be one of the players who has to settle for a place on the bench.
Agbonlahor said on talkSPORT at 6:16pm on July 22: “When you look at that midfield, no one is guaranteed to start.
“When I name the midfield, Kamara, Onana, Tielemans, Barkley, Barrenechea, no one is guaranteed to start out of them.
“Barkley has probably been told by the manager, you know what, you are coming in, you are probably not going to start, but fight for his place, show me the form that you showed for Luton.”
Is Agbonlahor right with Barkley Aston Villa prediction?
One of the main reasons Villa have been so busy in the transfer market this summer is the need to add depth to the squad.
Villa enjoyed a run to the Europa Conference League semi-final alongside their domestic exploits last season and their relatively small squad started to look very tired towards the end of the campaign.
With another intense season approaching, Emery will be keen to avoid injuries or a significant weakening of his squad if anyone is absent and that is something he has looked to plan for with the seven arrivals.
With Barrenechea likely to need some time to adapt following just one season of regular senior football in Italy and Kamara out, Barkley should get a real chance to impress Emery in the early weeks of the season.
After a career revival at Luton last season, don’t be surprised to see Barkley become a mainstay in the Villa midfield this campaign.
