Sky Sports. Rating all 18 of Unai Emery’s Aston Villa signings after £270m transfer spend.
Aston Villa have signed 18 players across four transfer windows since Unai Emery joined the club two years ago.
Aston Villa has spent over £270 million on transfer fees since Unai Emery’s hiring two years ago.
Villa have spent less on talent acquisition than other ‘big six’ teams, such as Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, and West Ham, in recent summers.
Villa have been hampered by the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules and UEFA’s cost control ratio regulations. They had to generate finances during the summer by selling academy graduates Omari Kellyman, Tim Iroegbunam, Douglas Luiz, and Moussa Diaby for large sums of money.
January, 2023
Alex Moreno – 8
The left-back was Emery’s first signing at the start of the January 2023 window, after the Villa manager was not impressed with Lucas Digne after joining the club, and Ludwig Augustinsson’s loan from Sevilla was cut short.
Moreno’s signing from Real Betis had a revolutionary influence. He helped the club qualify for the Europa Conference League and was instrumental in the team’s early success under Emery.
Moreno, who joined Villa at the age of 29, was never destined to be a long-term player, but he was outstanding in the second half of the 2022/23 season. Injuries stopped him from playing a similarly productive role last season, therefore he joined Nottingham Forest on loan this year.
Jhon Duran scored 9.5.
Duran has developed as one of the most promising young attackers in the world, but few managers would have had the patience Emery has shown in developing the 20-year-old to this point.
The Colombia international has all the skill in the world and has eight goals in 14 appearances in all competitions this season, but without Emery’s assistance and supervision, he may have struggled to deal with the demands of first-team play in the Premier League.
Last season, Emery acknowledged that Duran needed to mature fast in order to fulfill his full potential. Duran, who wanted to quit the club only a few months ago, has now signed a new long-term deal.
Signed for only £14.75 million, increasing to £18 million from the Chicago Fire, this was a superb piece of business by Villa.
Summer 2023
Moussa Diaby – 7
Diaby joined from Bayer Leverkusen for a large sum and had an immediate impact at Villa, scoring five goals in his first seven league games. However, he swiftly lost form, scoring only twice in the 22 league games since the 6-1 triumph over Brighton in late September.
Diaby appeared in all but two of Villa’s 56 appearances in all competitions. He had six goals and eight assists in his debut season with the club, which was regarded as remarkable. The assumption was that he would progress more in his second season, but he accepted a lucrative offer from Al-Ittihad.
Villa accepted the Saudi club’s £50.5 million bid for the winger under pressure from UEFA’s squad cost ratio guidelines. Given his talent, it’s a shame the 24-year-old had so little time at Villa.
Pau Torres – 10
Emery had worked with Torres at Villarreal before joining Villa, so the move made logical sense. The centre-back was important to Villa’s structure last season and will continue to be so.
The Spaniard is one of European football’s most advanced centre-backs, orchestrating everything from the back. He’s not as good a defender as Tyrone Mings, but his ability to play with the ball distinguishes him from other defenders.
Youri Tielemans – 9.5
Tielemans needed some time to adjust to Villa in his first few months last season, but he has now established himself as an important player, particularly after the departure of Douglas Luiz.
Despite a signing-on fee and high salaries, the Belgian was signed on a free transfer from Leicester City and has experienced a fresh lease on life at Villa Park under Emery. He has returned to his peak performance, which he demonstrated at Leicester while they were also in the Champions League. What a fantastic footballer.
Nicolo Zaniolo – 6
Zaniolo was signed on loan for the remainder of last season when Emi Buendia sustained an ACL injury on the eve of the campaign’s start. The Italian made 40 appearances for Villa last season, but only started nine Premier League games.
He scored two key goals that helped Villa tie with Sheffield United and West Ham. Zaniolo was never going to set the world on fire at Villa, and while frustrating at times, he performed his part in a great season for the club.
Clement Lenglet – 6.5
After failing to make a Premier League appearance until the end of December, Lenglet appeared in 12 consecutive matches as a result of Villa’s defensive injury crisis, which saw Pau Torres and Diego Carlos struggle in the new year.
Overall, Lenglet was reliable. Again, despite the fact that he was just on loan, he performed admirably and compensated for Tyrone Mings’ absence.
January, 2024
Morgan Rogers – 10
It’s difficult to blame this transfer. Rogers, who was signed for an initial fee of £8 million and may increase to £15 million in add-ons, is emerging as one of the Premier League’s most intriguing young players. Granted, he will be 23 next summer, but the former Manchester City player is inexperienced at the highest level and has lots of opportunity for development.
That’s a dangerous scenario, given his performance thus far this season. He increased in size with each passing game last season and will continue to turn attention as this season progresses.
Kosta Nedeljkovic – 8
In January, Villa agreed to pay Crvena Zvezda £6.5 million plus add-ons to sign Nedeljkovic. He has a lot of talent and has showed some promising indications in the games he has played so far this season.
He has also been promoted to the senior Serbia international squad, where he has the potential to become their undisputed right-back for the next decade if he performs at his peak. A bright future.
Joe Gauci – 6
Gauci joined Villa from Adelaide United for a modest sum and is now growing with Javi Garcia at Bodymoor Heath. Learning from the finest in the world, Emi Martinez, will be worth his move from the A-League alone.
Gauci has made two appearances for Villa since joining the club, both in this season’s Carabao Cup games against Wycombe and Crystal Palace.
Lino Sousa: N/A
Left-back Sousa joined Villa from Arsenal earlier this year, although he has yet to appear in the first squad. He went on loan to Plymouth Argyle for the second part of the season before signing for Bristol Rovers in the summer.
Summer 2024
Amadou Onana – 8.5
Emery wanted to recruit a player who could replace, play with, or compete with Boubacar Kamara, thus Villa paid a club record £50 million for Onana in July. Without the Frenchman, Villa conceded too many goals last season.
Onana still has a lot to learn from Emery, but he’s had a good start at the club, scoring three goals and impressing with compatriot Tielemans in the double pivot. He has been substituted in the majority of games this season and has only played the full 90 minutes in two league fixtures.
He will continue to develop under Emery’s tutelage, which was a major draw to joining Villa in the summer when he was also attracting interest from other clubs.
Ian Maatsen – 8.5
Maatsen has yet to start a league game for Villa owing to Digne’s outstanding consistency since the beginning of last season. At 22, the Dutch international still has plenty of time to contribute significantly to Villa’s improvement under Emery.
He was fantastic for Borussia Dortmund in the second part of the season, and he appeared in the Champions League final against Real Madrid alongside the German giants. He was also chosen to the Champions League team of the season, despite just joining the club on loan in January.
Emery confessed he made a mistake by selling Philogene to Hull last summer. Villa maintained some control over his destiny by agreeing to match an agreed offer from Ipswich in the summer.
Philogene had a fantastic season with the Tigers last year, scoring 12 goals and providing six assists in 32 Championship outings. Emery has a development plan for the winger, and given his skill, it was a relief to see him return to the club in the summer, since a lot of top-flight teams were interested in him.
Ross Barkley – 8.5.
Villa made a wise decision in signing Barkley from Luton Town for under £5 million. He was already familiar with numerous players of Emery’s team from his season-long loan in 2020/21, and he comes fresh off his greatest season at Luton Town.
Barkley has recovered his form, playing in a deeper role than he did for Everton and Chelsea. He has been asked to make an impact in games as a substitute. He helped Villa turn around games against Everton and Wolves before scoring the first goal against Bournemouth last weekend before committing the foul that resulted in the Cherries’ late equalizer.
Samuel Iling-Junior: N/A
Iling-Junior joined Bologna on loan for the season owing to the high level of competition for his position in the team. He made his Villa Park debut earlier this month, but against an opponent player in the Champions League.
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