Credit: Imago

Cameron Smith

Mon 25 May 2026 12:55, UK

Aston Villa are now looking to move to another gear after ending their major trophy drought.

Unai Emery’s side brought their campaign to a close in stunning fashion on Sunday, with an Ollie Watkins double sealing a 2-1 win against Manchester City.

This followed the biggest night in Villa’s recent history, as they lifted the Europa League on Wednesday.

Since Emery arrived in 2022, the B6 outfit has gone from strength to strength, and are now regular contenders at the thick end of the Premier League.

And as they look to continue on with this, the departing Pep Guardiola believes that the Villans have everything it takes to become title contenders.

Pep Guardiola lauds Unai Emery after magnificent Villa display

Making the trip to Manchester City, a defeat would have been forgiven on Sunday, given the circumstances of the week.

Though the visitors would stun Guardiola on his final day as City boss, as they came from a goal behind to win 2-1, prompting jokes from the Villa squad after taking to the pitch following the midweek celebrations.

Speaking after his final match at the helm, Guardiola would laud Villa boss Emery.

“We played against an incredible team,” said the departing Spaniard.

“Unai, what a manager, an incredible human being. Congratulations to them for winning the Europa League – they will be an incredible Premier League contender in the future,” he concluded.

Finishing in a European spot in each of his four seasons in charge, Emery has taken the Villans to incredible heights, and with a return to the Champions League sealed, the aim will be to continue moulding the Midlanders into a club capable of challenging for the biggest prizes.

Aston Villa must avoid transfer repeat as Unai Emery backed ahead of Champions League return

Aston Villa have enjoyed a landmark season, sealing a return to the Champions League and capturing the Europa League, elevating the club to a new level in terms of finance and stature.

Yet they have done so in spite of an underwhelming recent recruitment record. None of the latest signings have truly forced their way into Emery’s plans or made a sustained difference on the pitch.

It continues a trend set in the 2024 window, when players such as Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling-Junior – among others – were restricted to fleeting cameos in claret and blue.

As a result, Emery is still leaning heavily on a core group that is broadly the same as the squad he inherited in 2022. While that group remains a high-quality unit, it is also edging deeper into its peak years and beyond.

If Villa are to progress from being regular European participants to genuine contenders on multiple fronts, their transfer strategy must become sharper.

Although PSR regulations may impose spending limits, Villa are far from alone in navigating those financial constraints.

With the medium- and long-term in mind, the club’s priority has to be to inject youth, energy, and first-team-ready quality into the side, rather than repeating the pattern of underwhelming, peripheral additions in recent windows.