Can Emery work his magic again at Villa?

Unai Emery has already transformed Aston Villa once. The real question now is whether he can pull it off a second time. In his three-and-a-half years at the helm, Emery has consistently gotten Villa to punch above their weight. But a summer of upheaval at Villa Park is testing his resources. The departures have already started, and more are expected. Morgan Rogers has been sold to Chelsea for a British-record £117 million, just a week after Youri Tielemans completed his move to Manchester United. Lucas Digne is expected to follow them out the door, with Paris Saint-Germain looming. Arsenal may also test Villa’s resolve for Ezri Konsa. Despite the squad overhaul, Villa are determined to chase another top-four finish next season — especially with the Premier League pecking order set to look very different. Tottenham will be spending big and expecting a rebound, Xabi Alonso will aim to revive Chelsea, Liverpool hope to be energised under Andoni Iraola, and Manchester United will trust Michael Carrick’s interim work to continue the momentum. So after ending a 30-year trophy drought with May’s Europa League triumph, can Emery keep conjuring up his magic? Villa are losing nearly 500 Premier League appearances worth of experience. Last season, there was a sense they had crashed a party they weren’t invited to by qualifying for the Champions League. They finished fourth to secure a spot in the 2026-27 edition of Europe’s elite competition — the second time in three seasons they’ve broken into the top five. Emery inherited a squad sitting 14th, just three points above the relegation zone, back in November 2022. The turnaround has been remarkable, especially given the constant need to sell. Jacob Ramsey went to Newcastle for £40 million last summer to keep the club in line with financial rules. UEFA’s Squad Cost Ratio limits spending on transfers, wages, and agent fees to 70% of revenue. Those financial handcuffs have long frustrated Villa. Selling Rogers was the simplest way to stay compliant, but it also means that big-money replacements for Rogers, Tielemans, and Digne are unlikely without further significant outgoings. Fringe players will be moved on. Hull are keen on Leon Bailey, though a loan might be the initial route given the Tigers’ own finances. Evann Guessand can also leave. Tammy Abraham, however, is happy at Villa Park and doesn’t want to go. Villa would have kept Tielemans if they could, but they couldn’t afford to renegotiate his deal with two years left. Manchester United triggered his £35 million release clause, which counts as pure profit since he arrived on a free from Leicester in 2023. With Tielemans and Rogers gone and Digne poised to follow, Villa have lost 489 Premier League appearances from the squad — plus two of the players who scored in the Europa League final. Freiburg were poor on that night in Istanbul, but that didn’t reflect badly on Johan Manzambi, who had caught Villa’s eye more than a year earlier. He joined for a club-record fee of over £50 million just two years after his senior debut for Freiburg — a now-or-never move. Villa knew Manzambi, the Europa League Young Player of the Year, would be moving this summer; they hijacked a Newcastle deal for him. If they hadn’t signed him, he’d have been out of reach. Manzambi represents the start of a new era alongside Joao Gomes, who arrived from Wolves for £38 million. The Brazil midfielder made the third-most tackles in the Premier League last season (107) and his 194 ball recoveries were the fourth-highest in the division. He adds crucial nous after Villa’s plans were thrown off by Amadou Onana’s serious knee injury. Gomes is plug-and-play ready, with 116 top-flight appearances in three and a half years at Molineux. Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson could be an option up front — he worked with Emery at Villarreal — but the Blues’ £65 million price tag is prohibitive. Emery knows he can’t afford players who need time to adapt to his meticulous methods, so he needs men he can trust immediately. AC Milan’s former Brighton left-back Pervis Estupinan is therefore a candidate to bolster the defence. A new winger has already arrived: Alejandro Garnacho came in from Chelsea. Villa are also on the lookout for a right-back who can play centrally.