Aston Villa’s revolution towards becoming an established elite team got off to a great start this summer, buoyed by their slightly ahead of schedule qualification for this season’s Champions League – their first foray into Europe’s top table for 42 years. First on the agenda though had to be some player sales, or at least one sizeable one. The player served up to the PSR gods was Douglas Luiz – who somewhat bizarrely was sold to Juventus along with his girlfriend and Villa Women star Alisha Lehmann – in the world’s first “couple transfer”.
Many fans would have been disappointed to see Dougie go. No doubt he’s a high-class operator and has been ever present and a key part of our evolution from a newly promoted Championship side to a team challenging at the very top of the Premier League. The frustrating thing with Luiz though is his inconsistency. He tends to have a purple patch where he looks world-class, followed by a stretch of games where he’s more interested in being a bit petulant and arguing with opposition players and referees, rather than knuckling down and helping the team.
I think it was the right time to let him go, especially with the tail-off he had towards the end of last season – pointedly coinciding with the resumption of his on-off relationship with the aforementioned Lehmann. But in truth, of all the players that could have got us that hefty chunk to comply with PSR, he would have been my pick.
So onwards and upwards, thanks for the memories Dougie but we move. And from that sale came two unexpected youngsters in return from Juventus – step forward Samuel Illing-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea. Though it was stressed that these deals were all independent of each other, I sense a bit of PSR dark arts. And why not, seeing as the Premier League’s now infamous profit & sustainability rules have made it very difficult for lesser clubs to breach the monopoly of the “big six”.
But I digress – back to the new additions. Illing-Junior is somewhat of a known entity, one of those rare occurrences where a teenage English player moves abroad, but there must have been enough potential for the legendary “Old Lady” of Italian football to take a punt on him. He hasn’t had masses of game time, mainly being utilized as a speedy attacking wing-back, but his highlights look very promising. He will most likely be deployed as a back-up winger to Leon Bailey.
The one that has caught me pleasantly by surprise is Enzo Barrenechea. A complete unknown to me, and honestly I was just happy at the time that we didn’t get Weston Mckennie, anyone in his stead felt like we’d dodged a bullet. But the young, hard tackling Argentinian midfielder has really caught the eye in pre-season. I can’t see him getting too many opportunities this season, especially when Boubacar Kamara returns from his lengthy injury, but an exciting player to have in the squad and for the future.
Next in was Ian Maatsen, the lightning-fast marauding left back from Borussia Dortmund – named in the Champions League team of the season last year, and a big reason why the impressive Dortmund made the showpiece, eventually losing out to who else but Real Madrid. We really needed full-back upgrades, so I’m delighted we beat the competition and got this one over the line early.
Next, somewhat unexpectedly, came our marquee signing of the summer. Or at least our most expensive at £50M. Amadou Onana, I think, is a fantastic signing. A lot of talk from Everton fans is that we were robbed, he didn’t even make Dyche’s best 11, and so on – but maybe Dyche just didn’t know how to use him. He has the physical attributes to be something very special and at 23 years old, his best years are ahead of him. If anyone can unlock that massive potential, it’s Unai Emery.
Three players have been re-signed – Ross Barkley, if he performs the way he did for Luton last season as opposed to how he did on the whole for us when he had a year on loan here 3 seasons ago – will be a real steal at £5M. £16M to bring back Jaden Philogene one season after selling him to Hull, tells me that the gaffer was reluctant to sell him in the first place and obviously sees something in him, so I’m all for it. Cameron Archer’s obligated buy back from Sheffield United due to their relegation was probably not ideal. He’s much loved by the Villa faithful, and we’ve all seen he knows where the back of the net is. He never really got the chance he deserved at Villa Park, but I doubt that will change now that we’ve kicked on even further, so he could well be sold on again.
Other notable mentions in what has been a very savvy and promising summer so far – the emergence of two very exciting young talents, academy graduate Lamare Bogarde at centre back, and our forgotten signing from January, 18-year-old Serbian right-back Kosta Nedeljković. Both could be in with a big shout of first team action this season, judging by their impressive performances in pre-season.
The sale of Moussa Diaby, and especially recouping the initial outlay, was an opportunity that couldn’t be missed. He seemed bereft of confidence in the second half of the season, and as much as I wanted him to succeed, I can happily move on from that one.
Buendia, Mings, and to an extent Ramsey will feel like new signings after their injuries last season. There could be more still to come, with Joao Felix heavily linked, and strong interest in Feyenoord’s impressive right-back Lutsharel Geertruida. Felix I’m not convinced by, I don’t think he’d be fully invested. I’d love to get Geertruida over the line – then the squad needs trimming a tad. Cash and Moreno could go, and let’s not start with social media star Jhon Duran.
Villa fans have much to be excited about this year. Pre-season has been slightly underwhelming with key players missing due to international tournament involvement. But once we get everyone match fit and gelling, we now have the squad depth and quality to challenge on all fronts. And when we hear that Champions League anthem reverberating around the stands at Villa Park, it will be a seminal and emotional moment for all Villains. In Unai we trust – Up The Villa.