Some of Unai Emery’s decisions in the summer transfer window have directly caused Aston Villa’s alarming slump in form.
At this point last season, Aston Villa were in the Premier League title race, as they challenged powerhouses Manchester City and Arsenal.
Now, following Villa’s 3-0 defeat to Chelsea, Unai Emery’s men have dropped down to 12th in the table but still only four points behind fourth-place Brighton.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 12 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 22 | -3 | 19 |
An eight-match winless run in all competitions has been the main protagonist of their downward spiral, with teams now figuring Emery out tactically.
However, the issues for the Villans stem deeper than just stylistic problems, and it was arguably caused by the business that was done during the summer.
Aston Villa failed during the summer transfer window
To a certain degree, Villa can be cut some slack, as they were forced into selling two of their best players, Moussa Diaby and Douglas Luiz to comply with PSR.
Luiz’s partnership with Boubacar Kamara was magnificent last term while Diaby weighing in with 19 goal involvements inspired success in England’s top flight.
Admittedly, replacing that instrumental duo was never going to be easy, especially with PSR limitations, and so it has proved.
The Villans signed seven new players, two of which were loaned back out after being a part of the Luiz deal. Midfielder Enzo Barrenechea is now at Valencia, and winger Samuel Iling-Junior is plying his trade at Bologna.
Lewis Dobbin, who was part of the move that saw Tim Iroegbunam join Everton, is currently struggling at West Brom. Meanwhile, the arrivals of Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley, Ian Maatsen and Jaden Philogene have endured mixed fortunes.
Onana has impressed in midfield but is currently recovering from injury, whereas Barkley, Maatsen and Philogene have been on the fringes of the action.
It demonstrates that, while Emery wasn’t given the greatest hand in the summer, he didn’t play it well, as he was left with a squad that was worse off after the window shut and signings that mostly didn’t improve the starting lineup.
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Where Aston Villa need to strengthen in the January transfer window
Since the Spaniard was hamstrung by PSR concerns, there were naturally gaps in the squad that he didn’t manage to plug, and one of those was at centre-back.
Villa failed to sign Lutsharel Geertruida on deadline day, as the Dutchman instead joined RB Leipzig, and Emery is still targeting a new right-back in January.
For a club competing in Europe’s elite competition, Matty Cash isn’t of the level required and an improvement is needed in that position.
Villa are also open to selling Diego Carlos if it means raising funds for the window, which could mean they sign a difference maker in wide areas as a result.
Alex Baena could be the player Aston Villa target, as they’re still showing interest in the Spaniard and he’s someone who would improve their attacking output dramatically.
In short, defensive cover and a new attacker are both required for Emery’s men to have a successful second half of the season.
