Aston Villa have been working hard behind the scenes already this summer to try and get their squad ready to compete on all fronts.
Unai Emery oversaw a remarkable campaign last season in which Aston Villa secured Champions League football via a top four Premier League finish, as well as a run to the Europa Conference League semi-final.
With that progression comes the need to continue the squad improvement process Emery and Monchi have undertaken, with Champions League football helping Villa attract a higher calibre of player this summer.
Whilst the Villans did have to make sales to comply with PSR, the only sale that harmed the first-team immediately was that of Douglas Luiz to Juventus; academy duo Tim Iroegbunam and Omari Kellyman the other two sold to raise funds.
Six players have already been added to Emery’s ranks, with Everton’s Amadou Onana soon to be the seventh, and that has left journalist Dan Bardell in awe of Villa’s midfield options.
Dan Bardell believes Aston Villa have ‘real quality’ in midfield
Luiz was a key player last season and will be the loss most keenly felt as a consequence of Villa’s woes surrounding Premier League spending rules.
However, his move to Juventus saw Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea come the other way in what could prove to be an astute bit of business.
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Barrenechea is a holding midfield player and was announced on the same day as fellow midfielder Ross Barkley.
Now, with Onana set to secure a £50 million move and hopes that Boubacar Kamara can make a return from the ACL injury sustained in February some time in November, Villa suddenly have incredible depth in midfield.
This has been pointed out by Sky Sports presenter and host of The 1874 Podcast, Bardell, who posted on ‘X’: ‘Onana, Kamara, McGinn, Tielemans, Barkley, Barrenechea, Ramsey, Rogers, Bailey, Philogene, Buendia, Dobbin.
Luiz gone, but my god that’s some quality in the midfield four positions, with some able to play as a ten.
I’m sure one or two will depart on loan, but Villa looking so strong in the midfield department’.
Which of Aston Villa’s midfield options could go on loan?
Whilst Bardell comments that some of those options he mentioned could go on loan, it is actually difficult to see who.
With Philogene only re-signing after assurances from Emery regarding his involvement, it would appear that 21-year-old Lewis Dobbin is the only player on the list that could realistically leave on loan.
The best thing for Villa is that almost all of their options in the four midfield positions offer something very different, allowing Emery to use different players when the situation requires.
One of the biggest issues Villa faced towards the end of last season was fatigue. The worry next season could be keeping everyone happy but, with Champions League football to contend with, Emery does not want to be left short.
