Unai Emery conducted a summer of change at Aston Villa as the Spaniard overhauled his squad ready for a Champions League campaign.
The biggest and most notable departures from Aston Villa were Douglas Luiz to Juventus and Moussa Diaby to Al-Ittihad.
Although fans were sad to see that instrumental duo leave, Unai Emery and Monchi knew it was essential to comply with PSR, pocketing close to £100 million for the pair.
It was cash that helped fund their transfer business, with Aston Villa shelling out £50 million to sign Amadou Onana as their marquee signing while capturing the likes of Jaden Philogene, Ross Barkley and Ian Maatsen.
While Emery was pleased with the business he completed – despite failing to sign a centre-back – the biggest success story of their summer was keeping one of their current superstars.
Thomas Hitzlsperger praises Unai Emery for keeping Jhon Duran
Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran is one of the most exciting strikers in world football at the moment.
Duran has scored five match-winning goals from the bench, including the incredible lob to beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
It seems unthinkable that the 20-year-old could have left Birmingham, especially after Duran recently signed a new six-year contract at Aston Villa.
However, that was a reality that faced Emery in the summer, with Duran on the radar of both West Ham and Chelsea.
Despite Emery labelling Duran as ‘special’, the Villa marksman actually attempted to force a move out of the club back in the summer, posting a video of him doing the Irons gesture on Instagram Live and leaving fans outraged
But Emery managed to convince the Colombian to stay and that is proving to be a masterstroke in man management, with former Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzsperger praising the Spaniard.
“I think I said before, Jhon Duran, he was about to leave in the summer, and most managers would then just say, you know, I’m not interested in you anymore. You don’t want to be part of this team,” Hitzlsperger told the Planet Premier League podcast.
“Go and tell the owners like finding a new club for him. But when Emery managed to put his arm around, John Duran and said, look, you’ve got quality. We need you.
“You can help this club. You can help this team. And he’s delivered sooner than expected, probably.”
- READ MORE: What Colombian media said about Aston Villa star Jhon Duran after his performance vs Chile
Emery’s player management is on another level
It’s no secret that Duran wanted to leave Aston Villa this summer as he knew regular minutes weren’t guaranteed after starting just three times in the Premier League last season.
The young striker has used being left on the bench as fuel to showcase his goal-scoring talents to the world, and he’s done so to devastating effect.
That wouldn’t have been possible if Emery hadn’t put his arm around Duran and convinced him to stay at Villa Park.
| Competition | Games played | Goals | Minutes played |
| Premier League | 7 | 4 | 184 |
| Champions League | 2 | 1 | 50 |
| Carabao Cup | 1 | 1 | 90 |
| 10 | 6 | 52 minutes per goal |
Most managers would have sanctioned the exit of a player who was forcing a move but the Spaniard realised that Duran is young and will make mistakes.
At this moment, he placed all his faith in the talented Colombian to flip the narrative around, and he’s won back his loyal supporters by scoring some very important goals while becoming one of Europe’s best forwards.
