The season just gone was a fantastic time to be an Aston Villa, as they had their highest finish since the Premier League was introduced. This is thanks to the tactics of Unai Emery and the players having complete faith in the tactics they were being shown. They finished fourth fairly comfortably and had some great results against the two teams who were fighting for the title, Manchester City and Arsenal.
Now, after a summer of signing and selling with the addition of Champions League football, people are interested in seeing how Aston Villa can do in the league.
Their Summer
With the addition of Champions League football, they have a lot more games to play and a lot harder teams to play. With this, they need legs and they need to be able to make substitutions or changes in the team sheet without missing their players too much.
Their signings have absolutely done this, with them spending over £170 million this window and filling positions they were light in as well as improving positions they were weak in. One of the best signings they have made this window is Ian Maatsen from Chelsea for around £40 million. There are several reasons as to why this deal is good and this is what you want in a deal.
He improves a position they were weak in, he is young and could be a starter for many years to come and he has just come off a good loan from Dortmund, playing Champions League football.
They lost a key player in Douglas Luiz but the deal they made was incredible, in return they got two young players who could fill both Douglas Luiz’s position and, in Samuel Iling-Junior’s case, the wing positions. This was a fantastic swap deal and they didn’t stop there.
They knew they needed a stronger midfield so they went and found one of the best defensive midfielders in the league (Amadou Onana) and signed him, which is a fantastic deal for them but also weakens another team in the league.
Not only did they sign him, but they also looked at the relegated teams and saw Ross Barkley light up the league in a poor Luton squad and took a gamble, like how CS players gamble on the Best CS2 Gambling sites by signing him for cheap as a good option to have.
Their record signing Moussa Diaby was a good player but didn’t fit the system Emery wanted, so they ruthlessly sold him and made a profit even after his fairly average spell. His replacement was a cheap player who shone in the Championship for an underwhelming Hull City squad, which is smart business, again. They also signed Cameron Archer from Sheffield United who was clearly too good for them and offers good cover for Watkins.
Summer Summary
I have spoken about transfers enough but I am very impressed with the signings they have made and thought their smart recruitment could result in their already strong squad doing well and I hope it does.
This season feels like it could be a big year at the top of the table, with Man United struggling recently and Liverpool failing to make any signings thus far. Spurs and Villa could be in a fight for those spots.
Honest Predictions
If I am being honest right now, I think Aston Villa would do very well to finish as high as last season again, they could easily be in a European battle again though. However, a lot of the teams in this area have had strong summers too and none of them will have UCL football.
I have full faith in their squad and in Emery and as long as they manage minutes and their best players can be on top form again, we could see them get European football again.
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