The January transfer window is almost here and Premier League clubs are preparing to make sales and strengthen their hands.
Aston Villa won’t be able to sign all the players they need. Their financial constraints will impact their purchasing power in January and Villa transfers will be limited to top priorities and, most likely, short-term solutions.
Unai Emery leads a new-look football department. Manager and director of football operations Damian Vidagany will now work with Roberto Olabe, who succeeded Monchi as president of football operations in September.
On the face of it, Villa don’t need a major transfer operation next month. This is a team with ten consecutive wins and three points off the top of the Premier League. There are weaknessesand they are greater than mere imperfections.
The football department will have spent a lot of time assessing Villa’s priorities and capabilities. This is what I think they should be thinking about as December turns into January.
Goalkeeper
It is more likely that Emiliano Martínez will be Villa’s goalkeeper until the end of the season. It is also more likely than not in my opinion that he leaves in the summer transfer window, and there will be an acute need to sign a new first choice.
Villa currently has Martínez and Marco Bizot, a more than sufficient combination for a team with Premier League goals and Europa League ambitions. They will continue with this until May.
Priority level: LOW
Defenders
The days when Villa had to sign a right back are behind us for the rest of the season. The performances of Matty Cash and the availability of Andrés García, alongside three reasonable alternatives, mean that every move Villa make down the right will be made with the future in mind.
Left-back is a position Villa will need to buy in soon, simply due to Lucas Digne’s age, but it’s not something I expect them to look at in the January transfer window.
Likewise, if Victor Lindelöf takes the place of Ezri Konsa if necessary, the right side of Villa’s central defensive pairing will be considered an emergency.
For me, the big defensive question mark is whether Emery will try to bring in a centre-back who can play in both positions, but who is mainly left-sided. Villa have two players in that role, but we’ve already seen how differently they have to play when Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings are both injured.
Severity level: MEDIUM
Midfielders
Villa’s depth in midfield is the envy of many Premier League teams and Emery’s desire to ensure Amadou Onana can play there alongside Boubacar Kamara has convinced him to deploy both Youri Tielemans and John McGinn higher up.
With these players as the top four choices, Lamare Bogarde as the second-best long-term option, Ross Barkley doing well when needed and George Hemmings regularly included in the matchday squad in recent weeks – not to mention the fact that this is the youngest position in the squad – it would be difficult to argue that a central midfielder would be high on the shopping list in January.
Priority level: LOW
Forwards/attacking midfielders
The attacking trio in Villa’s squad is a more complicated picture. Both Tielemans and McGinn currently start there, which means Morgan Rogers plays on the left. The England man is a guaranteed starter regardless of how Emery configures that line.
But while Villa have bodies that can play in the striker positions, they lack quality in depth.
Emi Buendía is doing a fantastic job and Emery seems happy enough to try and get something out of Jadon Sancho on the left, but the right is a concern as McGinn occasionally benefits from rest.
Villa’s first priority, I hope, is to find a deal that allows Harvey Elliott to leave the club and get on with his life. It’s not what I would do with him, but my preferred option is seemingly off the table – I hope he can go.
Nevertheless, Villa remains closest to a specialist in the right(ish) position with Evann Guessand and Donyell Malen. That’s where you’re aiming for an Elliott replacement in my opinion.
Severity level: MEDIUM
Attacker
Malen can’t do what Ollie Watkins can do and Watkins can’t do what Watkins does. It was a mistake not to deal with that opportunity during the summer transfer window. Something needs to be done now, even if it is a short-term solution to get Villa to the end of the season.
Priority level: HIGH
#Aston #Villa #transfers #Unai #Emery #January #transfer #window