Unai Emery has transformed Aston Villa once. The question now is whether he can do it again.
Villa have sold Morgan Rogers to Chelsea for £117m — a record move for an English player — a week after Youri Tielemans joined Manchester United. Lucas Digne is expected to join Paris St-Germain, and Villa could still have their resolve tested by Arsenal for Ezri Konsa.
“Aston Villa sell Morgan Rogers (£117m) and Youri Tielemans (£35m) as Emery rebuilds after Champions League qualification.”
These exits come after Villa ended their 30-year wait for a trophy with May's Europa League win and gatecrashed the top five for the second time in three seasons, finishing fourth to secure Champions League football for 2026-27.
Emery achieved this after inheriting a squad that was 14th in the table in November 2022, three points above the relegation zone. But the revival has happened despite having to sell — Jacob Ramsey joined Newcastle for £40m last summer — to comply with Uefa's Squad Cost Ratio, which limits spending on transfers, wages and agent fees to 70% of revenue.
Selling Rogers was the easiest way to comply, but it means large-scale spending to replace the England forward, Tielemans and Digne is unlikely without further significant exits. Fringe players will leave: Hull are keen on Leon Bailey, possibly on loan, while Evann Guessand can also depart. Tammy Abraham is happy at Villa Park and not looking to leave.
Villa would have preferred to keep Tielemans but could not afford to renegotiate his deal before United triggered his £35m release clause — pure profit after his free transfer from Leicester in 2023.
With Rogers and Tielemans gone, and Digne poised to follow, Villa have lost 489 Premier League appearances from the squad, plus two players who scored in the Europa League final. Yet Villa will still seek another top-four finish next season, when the Premier League landscape looks certain to be a lot different.
Big-spending Tottenham will expect a resurgence, Xabi Alonso will aim to revive Chelsea, Liverpool hope to be revitalised under Andoni Iraola, and Manchester United believe Michael Carrick's good work as interim can continue.