Aston Villa have one month left to complete their summer transfer business after adding three players to Unai Emery's squad so far this window. The club finalised a move for Johan Manzambi just over two weeks ago in a club-record £52 million deal, but Youri Tielemans was on his way to Manchester United for £35 million after the Red Devils activated his release clause.
Replacing Departures
He was not the only player set to leave either, with Paris Saint-Germain indicating their intention to trigger Lucas Digne's release clause in a move that has yet to be confirmed. Villa moved quickly to replace Tielemans for the same fee, as BirminghamLive exclusively revealed that Joao Gomes was leaving Wolves' training camp in Portugal to complete a £35 million move to Villa. By that point, Villa had also opened initial talks with Bayern Munich over signing Joao Palhinha as cover for the injured Amadou Onana, who will miss most, if not all, of next season after suffering an ACL rupture.
Major Exits and New Arrivals
Morgan Rogers was always the most likely of Villa's big hitters to leave this summer, and he completed a £117 million move to Chelsea earlier this month – a record fee for a British player. In theory, Manzambi replaced Rogers and Gomes came in for Tielemans, but Villa's third arrival, Alejandro Garnacho, is the type of player they have been lacking for some time. Jadon Sancho's departure following his loan spell left a vacancy for Garnacho to fill on an initial loan, while Andres Garcia's move to Getafe has left Villa short at right-back.
With Digne also leaving the club, Villa are already in need of two new full-backs, a midfielder to replace the injured Onana and a creative presence to replace Leon Bailey, who is open to joining Hull City.
Transfer Targets
Pervis Estupinan has been Villa's primary target to replace Digne, with AC Milan thought to want to recoup the €20 million they paid for him last summer, although new manager Ruben Amorim reportedly wants to take a closer look at him during pre-season. Emerson Royal has also been identified as Villa's first-choice right-back target given his relatively low valuation at Flamengo, whom he joined only last summer from Milan. Ideally, Villa would recruit a midfielder capable of filling in at right-back, such as James Garner, but Joao Palhinha represents a more cost-effective option to replace Onana given that the Portuguese international would arrive on loan.
Villa have held talks with Bayern over signing Palhinha, although the midfielder has said publicly that he wants to fight for his place in Vincent Kompany's squad, a stance that contrasts with Bayern's apparent willingness to let him leave. The arrivals of a new midfielder and right-back would surely see Villa entertain offers for Lamare Bogarde, as the 22-year-old is capable of covering both positions. However, Emery has previously preferred other options, despite viewing Bogarde as a valuable squad player.
Financial Constraints and Key Retentions
Ideally, if Villa complete those three signings, they would then generate funds through the sales of Bailey and Evann Guessand to invest in a creative player capable of strengthening Emery's options behind the striker. Allan, of Palmeiras, is highly rated in Brazil and would provide Emery with a profile of player currently lacking in his squad, much like William Gomes of FC Porto, although Allan would command a higher fee. Villa are said to have seen a €30 million bid rejected for the Brazilian. Nicolas Jackson would be an ideal addition to the frontline should Tammy Abraham depart, but he would cost significantly more than Villa would receive from the sale of the former Besiktas striker, who only joined in January for £18 million.
UEFA's regulations stipulate that Villa must record a net positive transfer balance by the end of the window to register players on List A of their Champions League squad, making it difficult to see how replacing Abraham with Jackson would be financially viable. Villa should not sell Ollie Watkins this summer, despite him entering the final two years of his contract, because he guarantees Premier League goals. It is also crucial that Villa retain Ezri Konsa and Emi Martinez during the final weeks of the transfer window, having already lost experienced figures such as Digne and Tielemans, as well as the quality of Rogers.
