Jamie Carragher slams three Monchi signings amid surprise Aston Villa exit
Aston Villa fans have endured a rough start to the season with Unai Emery failing to win a single game.
Emery’s Villa job now hangs in the balance after the disastrous start, but he still has a chance to get back on track with a win over Bologna on Thursday night.
Roberto Olabe has reunited with Emery after Monchi left his role as Villa’s President of Football Operations, but their reunion may not last long if the coach can’t turn things around.
Emery hasn’t been helped this transfer window, and Ex-Liverpool, now pundit, Jamie Carragher has had his say on Monchi and three of his signings in particular.
Jamie Carragher says Ian Maatsen, Amadou Onana, and Donyell Malen ‘haven’t done it’
While speaking on Stick To Football, Carragher alluded to the point that Monchi was supposed to be a “transfer guru”, but says his transfers haven’t worked out at all
“Monchi who’s like this sort of transfer guru from Seville, but it hasn’t worked, he hasn’t done well enough at all.
“You think of some of the players he’s brought in, (Amadou) Onana was £50m, the left back (Ian Maatsen) was £40m, he’s hardly played.
“(Donyell) Malen, the winger they bought from Borussia Dortmund was about £20-30m.
“The big signings they’ve made just haven’t done it at all.”
Harvey Elliot was favoured by Monchi over Lucas Paqueta, while Emery’s first-choice was always the latter.
With Monchi now stepping aside and Olabe taking over, questions will be asked about the club’s recruitment strategy.
Roberto Olabe has a big task in Aston Villa’s January transfer window
Aston Villa will have to closely monitor the development of the expensive trio over the coming months as January could be the time to cut their losses.
There are clear problems with Villa’s attack right now, with the side only managing to score twice in six games.
| Opponent | Minutes | Goals | Date |
| Brighton | 2 | 1 | 2 April |
| Nottingham Forest | 62 | 1 | 5 April |
| Southampton | 24 | 1 | 12 April |
Malen has shown clear signs of quality in the past, but this year has only started once in the Premier League.
Maatsen has also only started once this season, as the Dutchman has found game time hard to come by since his move from Chelsea in 2024.
Onana has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since the end of August and is nearing his return in September.
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