Aston Villa boss has been known for his success to revitalize the career of star players whose form was degrading or are surplus to the team’s requirement.
The 2026/27 season is back in action this weekend. Aston Villa are set to welcome Brentford in Villa Park. Yet, what has been on the headlines recently is whether they would eventually hand over some minutes for their loan players, Alejandro Garnacho.
The Argentine winger has joined The Lions this season, which practically surprises almost everyone, including the Villa fans. He was signed on loan deal with the option to buy permanently. So far, he has only featured 13 minutes this season. The winger who was once tipped as one of the exciting talents for Albiceleste is no longer exciting to watch. His form was below par plus he has issues off the pitch.
However, it did not stop Emery to sign him. Garnacho is certainly not the first one of its kind, being signed to be revitalized. The Spaniard has done such before, even before taking charge of the Clarets and Blue.
Emery has done several times during his stints in Sevilla and Villareal, where he was particularly given the authority in making the signings too. Some players thrived again under his tutelage such as Fernando Llorente and Geronimo Rulli but some others did not like Ciro Immobile and Marko Marin. How about during his spell in the West Midlands? How successful has Emery revived those unwanted stars?
Since he arrived in Villa Park in the middle of 2022/23 season, Emery has attempted to help six players revitalize their career, Garnacho included. However, among those names, the Spanish boss only managed to give a new lease of life to two players. Both were signed on loan in 2024/25 season when they qualified to Champions League for the first time since their last European Cup season in 1982/83.
They were Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio. The former was once surplus to the requirement in Ruben Armorim’s Manchester United, whereas the latter was not the first choice in Luis Enrique’s PSG. Both arrived in the second half of the season.
Rashford featured in 17 games, netting four goals and provided six assists. He even forced Ollie Watkins to be on the bench for a while and made the current Al-Hilal man concerned about his future in Villa Park, should he have extended his stay there.
Fortunately, the product of Manchester United academy opted to leave England and chose Barcelona as his next destination, where he also thrived. He helped the Catalan giant win domestic double and even contributed well on their attacking side, including scored one through a sublime free kick in El Classico at Camp Nou.
Asensio also shone with the Lions. The current Fenerbahce man made 21 appearances, scoring eight goals and set up once. Unfortunately, he did not stay in the West Midlands after his loan spell ended. The former Real Madrid man headed to Turkey instead despite Emery’s interest to re-sign him.
Meanwhile, the other players who did not exactly succeed are quite a surprise. They are Clement Lenglet, Nicolo Zaniolo and Jadon Sancho. Lenglet came from Barcelona, unwanted in Catalan giant in the summer 2023. The French defender eventually made 15 appearances plus contributed one assist but did not impress much to sign him permanently.
The same goes to Zaniolo and Sancho. The former was expectedly tipped one of Italian top talents but he could not reach the same heights in the game in the 2023/24 season. The Italian international only registered three goals in 36 games. He eventually returned to his parent club at that time, Galatasaray.
Meanwhile, Sancho also had an unimpressive stint in Villa in the 2025/26 campaign. He made 37 appearances but only bagged one goal plus setting up three times in all competitions. The former Manchester United man is now still clubless at the age of just 26.
The post How successful has Unai Emery revived the star’s career in Aston Villa? appeared first on AVillaFan.com – Aston Villa Fan Site.
