Aston Villa in desperate need of summer transfer clear-out – defeat vs Newcastle United proved it
Aston Villa didn’t cover themselves in glory as they fell to defeat against Newcastle United in the FA Cup on Saturday.
The Villa Park faithful were surprised to see a relatively strong side line up in B6, with regulars like Douglas Luiz, Morgan Rogers and Amadou Onana starting.
Emi Martinez, Emi Buendia, Ollie Watkins, Jadon Sancho and Ian Maatsen were also brought on, but they couldn’t make the desired impact.
Eddie Howe’s side still ran away as comfortable 3-1 winners after Marco Bizot was sent off, despite Tammy Abraham’s earlier opener.
That has raised plenty of concern in the Midlands, and the FA Cup defeat may kick-start a mass exodus over the summer.
Aston Villa deserved to lose vs Newcastle United
Sometimes you get unlucky, but no fan walking away from Villa Park in claret and blue could have any complaint about the result.
Referee Chris Kavanagh had a shocker, and Newcastle arguably could have had five goals to their name, so they were unfortunate to only accrue three.
Bizot’s crazy red card certainly didn’t help things and allowed the Magpies to control possession with 57 per cent across the 90 minutes, as showcased by Sofascore.
They also racked up 1.31 expected goals with their 12 shots while creating three big chances as they looked to utilise their 406 accurate passes, 112 more than Villa.
That summed up Unai Emery’s side on the night, and even with the sending off, it has raised alarm bells around certain players who are surely doomed in B6.
Who could Aston Villa force out in the summer?
There was so little positivity to speak of in the second half against Newcastle that it has prompted many supporters to demand that many first-team players leave in the summer.
Unsurprisingly, Lucas Digne has once again felt the brunt of that, considering the fact that he should have been sent off and should have been penalised for his handball inside the penalty area.
He also won just 33 per cent of his duels and failed to contribute with more than one tackle, interception or block on the day.
It was a similar story for Ollie Watkins, who has come under fire after failing to have any sort of attacking impact in his 25-minute cameo.
No shots, no chances created, and no duels won sum him up at the moment.
He isn’t helped by the fact that Abraham got on the scoresheet and looked so much better in every attribute compared to his fellow countryman.
Emi Martinez is also looking at an exit in the mind of supporters, having come off the bench, played 46 minutes and conceded three goals from an xG of 1.21.
This trio are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of fan complaints, but these three leaving would certainly represent a big change of the guard in B6.
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