There has been concern over whether Unai Emery can deliver more silverware for Aston Villa after the departure of their stars.
Aston Villa have just gone through quite major changes in the team. The sudden departure of Youri Tielemans, followed by Morgan Rogers and then soon Lucas Digne, has shocked the fans. In fact, this could be just the beginning.
Based on several reports, including from Sky Sports, more major sales might be necessary for the club to comply with various financial regulations, especially UEFA’s. They have been fined by the European football governing body this summer due to a breach of the SCR rule.
Fans have begun to wonder if Villa can thrive again like last season. They might even have doubts about whether more trophies can be won by the West Midlands side, despite The Lions’ success in signing Johan Manzambi, Joao Gomes and Alejandro Garnacho so far.
Nevertheless, Emery is no stranger to such change. He might have been unhappy, but instead of whining about it, he remains positive. There is always a chance to rebuild with a new team and a new spirit. The Spanish boss shared his view on it after the 3-1 win over Indonesia All Stars yesterday, as reported by the club’s official site, avfc.co.uk.
“I am really optimistic. How we are building the team, how we are with a lot of changes, how we are as well, responding every day. I want to tell all our supporters: we are coming back again with a new spirit, a new chapter we will do this year. Really, I am excited.”
Emery might be optimistic, and the team may stay at the top, but will he be able to deliver more silverware as he aims to after lifting the Europa League last season? This situation is nothing new for the former PSG and Arsenal boss. He went through the same thing during his stints at Valencia and Sevilla, while at Villarreal, he managed to keep most of his stars to achieve more success in the following year after winning the Europa League in 2021.
Emery’s first experience with major departures came in 2010/11. After leading Valencia to a third-place finish behind Barcelona and Real Madrid, they lost their stars David Villa and David Silva in the summer of 2010, right after they won the World Cup in South Africa. They were sold to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively.
Fans began to wonder if Emery could work his magic again and remain consistent in securing Champions League qualification. The former midfielder had to deal with his first rebuilding test, and he succeeded. Emery brought in Roberto Soldado from Getafe, Aritz Aduriz from Mallorca, and Mehmet Topal from Galatasaray as their marquee signings. He guided them to another third-place finish, albeit without winning any silverware.
In the following season, 2011/12, Emery had to lose more key players. This time it was Juan Mata and Joaquin Sanchez, who had contributed heavily to Valencia’s La Liga campaign.
As replacements, Emery recruited Pablo Piatti, Adil Rami, and Daniel Parejo from Almeria, Lille and Getafe respectively. Los Ches were guided to another third-place finish and reached the Europa League semi-finals.
The next challenge came when he was in charge of Sevilla. The 2013/14 season was the first time Emery lifted a major trophy after leading them to the 2014 Europa League title by defeating Benfica.
Ahead of the new season, Emery once again lost top players such as Ivan Rakitic, Alberto Moreno, Federico Fazio and Diego Perotti. His team responded by making smart signings, including Ever Banega, Stephane Mbia, Grzegorz Krychowiak and Aleix Vidal. Sevilla managed to retain the title in 2015 after beating Dnipro 3-2 in a thrilling final.
In his final season in Andalusia, Emery faced the same issue again. This time they had to sell prolific goalscorer Carlos Bacca and versatile winger Aleix Vidal. Yet that did not stop him from winning the Europa League for a third consecutive season. Emery guided Sevilla to victory over Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the final.
However, that triumph felt even more special because Sevilla could not find proper replacements for their departing stars. Most of their signings failed to impress, including Ciro Immobile, Fernando Llorente and Sergio Escudero. The club also only managed to finish seventh, their lowest league position during Emery’s time at Sevilla.
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