Talks held over Aston Villa exit in January, Unai Emery is a big admirer
Aston Villa are busy working on several deals in the January transfer window.
Things looked bleak for Villa after failing to qualify for the 2025-26 Champions League and having a very slow start to this Premier League season.
Fast forward to mid-January, and Villa are now Premier League title challengers, plus, they are flying high in the Europa League and beat Tottenham to reach round four of the FA Cup.
Unai Emery is keen to strengthen his squad this month, with Villa snapping up Gremio winger Alysson, and he has been joined by teenage Metz forward Brian Madjo for a combined £20.5million.
But due to Villa’s struggles with the league’s Profit and Sustainability Rules, exits also have to be considered by the club.
However, not all of those exits may be permanent ones.
Aston Villa hit with January transfer dilemma
At a time when Villa are keeping tabs on Celta Vigo defender Oscar Mingueza, the Villa Park side are also considering what to do with their loan army.
The Premier League high-flyers currently have 24 players out on loan this season, all of which are performing with varying success.
While Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott is unlikely to play for Villa again, winger Ben Broggio is highly rated by Emery.
The 18-year-old made his Villa debut as a substitute in their Carabao Cup win away at Wycombe Wanderers in September 2024 and last March, he signed a long-term deal with the club.
Despite his apparent pedigree, he hasn’t played for the first team since then, and The Athletic states the teenager has held discussions over a loan exit
The report adds that the main question centres on whether he is better utilised in offering depth to the first team or gaining experience out on loan.
- Read more: Aston Villa told to snap up James Garner in £25m swoop from Everton after what insider has seen
Aston Villa enjoy remarkable turnaround
Back in late September, Villa were sitting 18th in the table after three draws and two wins from their opening five fixtures.
They looked lethargic and out of ideas, as Emery tried and failed to get a tune out of his team.
But over time, their results improved, before going on a history-making streak. Between 1 November and 30 December, Villa won 11 games in a row.
| Aston Villa’s winning streak | Dates |
| Aston Villa 2-0 Maccabi TA (1) | 1 November |
| Aston Villa 4-0 Bournemouth (2) | 9 November |
| Leeds United 1-2 Aston Villa (3) | 23 November |
| Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (4) | 27 November |
| Aston Villa 1-0 Wolves (5) | 30 November |
| Brighton 3-4 Aston Villa (6) | 3 December |
| Aston Villa 2-1 Arsenal (7) | 6 December |
| Basel 1-2 Aston Villa (8) | 11 December |
| West Ham 2-3 Aston Villa (9) | 14 December |
| Aston Villa 2-1 Manchester United (10) | 21 December |
| Chelsea 1-2 Aston Villa (11) | 27 December |
That run of victories was brought to an end in emphatic fashion by league leaders Arsenal, who romped to a 4-1 home win.
But Villa still managed to match a club record dating back to 1897. They are still just six points behind the Gunners and are not out of this title race by a long shot.
It will be interesting to see if Broggio is utilised to try and play a part in that tilt for trophies.
Stay up to date this winter with our Aston Villa transfer tracker. Click to see every done deal at Villa Park, plus expert reaction from our team of writers.