Unai Emery key to ambitious Aston Villa plans, with former players on his list
Unai Emery will be key to Aston Villa and their ambitious recruitment in this summer transfer window, with multiple of his former players being linked with moves to Villa Park in the coming weeks.
Aston Villa’s early summer business has been brilliant, after bringing in Leicester City star Youri Tielemans, with the club now set to announce a deal completed for Villarreal defender Pau Torres [Fabrizio Romano, 3 July].
It is the deal for the latter that particularly stands out, with the defender having spent two years playing under Emery at Villarreal, and the Spanish boss being key in persuading Torres to join the midlands team despite interest from Bayern Munich and Manchester United.
Torres’ arrival at Villa Park is a major coup and is sure to improve them. He will compliment Villa’s style perfectly with his comfort on the ball, as he is in the 99th percentile of progressive carries, 96th percentile for progressive passes, and 97th percentile for successful take-ons among other central defenders in La Liga.
For Villa to be beating teams of that calibre to deals is something special that Unai Emery brings to the club himself. His rapport amongst former players, particularly in Spain, is outstanding. This gives him a platform to use his prior relationships as well as second-hand recommendations to attract more stars to Villa Park.
Joaquin, who Emery managed at Valencia, described his former boss as “obsessed with football,” joking that “it’s practically an illness.” [Sky Sports, 13 January]
Arnaut Danjuma, who played under the Villa boss at Villarreal, echoed these statements as he labelled his boss as “crazy” about the game, while Etienne Capoue described him as “a football encyclopedia”.
Amongst all of the positive assessments of their former manager, come fresh quotes from Barcelona’s Ferran Torres, who has been heavily linked with a summer move to Aston Villa this summer. Torres referred to his former manager as “a benchmark” and stated that, under his guidance, their Valencia side “did things very well” [Mundo Deportivo, 30 June].
Torres could be a key player at Aston Villa, having proved he can perform in the Premier League after scoring seven league goals in 1,307 minutes for Manchester City in the 2020/21 season – an average of a goal every 186 minutes, just under one goal every two games [Transfermarkt]. If he can get that kind of return for Villa, he’ll be worth every penny they pay.
The respect and admiration Emery commands from his former players point to the reason his new club are able to attract such stars, with the Spaniard the key. Former players (Pau) Torres and (Ferran) Torres could link up with Villa’s Spanish boss once more this season, as rumours swirl in what promises to be an exciting summer for the fans.
This is certainly something to watch as the window goes on, with the potential to be game-changers.
In other Aston Villa news, a young Villa gem could be on his last chance as the club take transfer gamble.