Aston Villa still have a considerable amount of work to do in the summer transfer window, here are four areas Unai Emery must target.
The summer transfer window has been incredibly busy for Aston Villa, with a list of moves being sanctioned ahead of the 2024/25 calendar.
Unai Emery has welcomed seven new faces to his squad, as well as seeing some key players depart, including Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby.
While the Villans have made a strong start to bolstering their squad ahead of their Champions League venture, Monchi and Emery still have a lot of work to do.
The four Aston Villa squad problems that need solving before deadline day
Samuel Iling-Junior, Amadou Onana, Enzo Barrenechea, Ross Barkley, Lewis Dobbin, Jaden Philogene and Ian Maatsen represent the new faces to arrive at Villa Park this summer.
As well as those signed by Emery is Cameron Archer, who returned to Villa procedurally due to a relegation clause in his contract with Sheffield United.
Supporters will be delighted to see Emery and Monchi’s rapid approach to replenishing the squad before the new season begins however, there are still some areas of real concern to address.
Lack of defensive depth must be addressed
Out of the seven new arrivals, only one is a defender as Maatsen was signed to strengthen Emery’s options at left-back.
It’s imperative that Villa don’t reach deadline day with the Dutchman as their only defensive capture, with significant issues to solve before the new season.
Signing a right-back is one must, with Matty Cash and Kosta Nedeljkovic standing alone in the position plus, even greater problems at centre-back.
With Tyrone Mings recovering from an ACL injury, Emery has three fit centre-backs to start the campaign with, a number that alarmingly shrinks to two as Ezri Konsa is considered more of an option on the right side.
Signing a second-choice goalkeeper would be smart
Emi Martinez is Emery’s firm number one however, beyond the Argentine, Villa have a significant gap between first and second in the pecking order.
The gap was evident last season as Robin Olsen was called into action to cover for the World Cup winner, where his frailties were exploited numerous times to cause anxiety at the back.
In pre-season, Joe Gauci has featured although, a similar narrative applies as the Australian looks to be way below the standard of Martinez.
With the Champions League on the horizon, it would be smart for the boss to search the market for a higher-quality second-choice shot-stopper in the instances that Martinez is not available.
Jhon Duran must be replaced
The transfer saga surrounding Jhon Duran is as tedious as it is concerning, as Emery and Monchi will be aware of how vital signing a replacement will be.
Duran has disrespected Villa with his behaviour on social media amid transfer links, putting his time in B6 near the point of irreversible damage.
While offloading the Colombian will come as a relief to Villa due to his immaturity this summer, it will be difficult for the club to replace him, with not many clinical strikers wanting to be second-choice.
That being said, a figure must be found whether it be in the market or by paying extra attention to those currently in the squad who could provide such cover.
A central playmaker is missing from Villa’s squad
Emery’s side is bustling with talent capable of playing central midfield although, the problem lies with very few of them having the profile to be relied on as a chance creator.
Villa have players like John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers but are lacking their own Martin Odegaard, Bruno Fernandes or Kevin De Bruyne.
Scanning the market for a number 10 would be an incredibly smart move by Emery, who has been credited with wanting to replenish the position by Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas.
There is a lot of work to be done this summer with issues that could prove to be season-costing if they are not addressed before deadline day.
