Aston Villa are playing a dangerous game

inews.co.uk

Aston Villa are playing a dangerous game

It is quiet at Aston Villa so far this transfer window. Too quiet for their fans’ liking.

A back-up goalkeeper and two teenage prospects have arrived, but the reality is that Unai Emery’s side have gone backwards since the end of last season.

That was always going to happen with Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford returning to their parent clubs after short loan spells, and it has left Villa not only playing catch-up with a recent version of themselves but with teams who finished well below them in the Premier League table.

For Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are making moves. The United name still carries weight, evidently, with Bryan Mbeumo on the brink of joining Matheus Cunha through the door.

Tottenham meanwhile have welcomed Mohammed Kudus and could add Morgan Gibbs-White too thanks to the Champions League factor that Villa so agonisingly missed out on after controversy at Old Trafford.

That defeat to United on the final day and subsequent sixth-placed finish feels even more significant midway into this transfer window.

With the Europa League a far less powerful lure, Villa appear to be waiting on market activity instead of taking the initiative and shaping it.

Villa are interested in both Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson and United’s Alejandro Garnacho, The i Paper reported this week, but the possibility of a straight swap proves Villa are a distant domino piece that may not come into play.

Balancing the financial tightrope appears to be the primary reason for Villa’s position, and while helped by selling the women’s team (to, er, their parent company V Sports), the futures of key players within their current men’s squad are arguably driving this uncertainty.

Emiliano Martinez appeared to wave a tearful farewell to Villa Park in May, but amid reported interest from United and Saudi Pro League clubs no offer has been made.

A move to United would certainly sting given the Argentine’s assumed desire to leave in pursuit of silverware, but regardless the later a transfer materialises, the worse off Villa are in terms of finding a replacement in time for the new campaign.

Talk of Ollie Watkins leaving meanwhile is currently quiet but speculation could grow as the transfer deadline draws closer.

Again Villa are left waiting on Arsenal and United to move for their preferred striker targets, knowing that their England international could eventually be viewed as an ideal alternative.

Unlike Viktor Gyokeres, Watkins is Premier League ready, with only Mohamad Salah and Erling Haaland above him for goals and assists combined since the start of 2023-24 – and so there are six weeks left for Villa’s resolve to be tested in this regard.

And there is more limbo in the case of Jacob Ramsey, with Nottingham Forest reportedly interested in the midfielder, who as a homegrown player would count as pure profit should Villa sell him.

Ramsey is more dispensable than Watkins and Martinez and could be the fall guy should Villa need to sell before they buy, although they may be reluctant to sell to a rival – one that look set to join them in the Europa League if Crystal Palace’s appeal falls on deaf ears.

The financial picture is therefore bleaker at Villa than the clubs they would hope to finish above again next season.

Spurs have already surpassed the £100m mark for spending this summer and United will do likewise once Mbeumo is confirmed.

By comparison, Villa have welcomed 19-year-olds Yasin Ozcan and Zepiqueno Redmond – a centre-back and forward respectively – as well as goalkeeper Marco Bizot. Ozcan was said to be €7m (£6m), and Bizot’s fee was undisclosed, while Redmond was free.

It hardly screams progress, and with an opening league fixture against Newcastle a month away, this meeting looks set to provide a good barometer of where Villa are at – and it could prove alarming if Eddie Howe’s side continue to strengthen themselves.

But hey, at least Philippe Coutinho’s salary is finally off the books.