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Aston Villa boss Unai Emery is already showing great ambition ahead of the summer transfer window.
Unai Emery believes Aston Villa have taken significant strides in attracting some of the world’s best talent by establishing themselves as a top European club.
Emery is thrilled that signings previously impossible to acquire are now attainable thanks to the club’s upward trajectory. The head coach doesn’t want to stop there, though, as he demands Villa’s progression continues to maintain the growing allure in the transfer market.
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There’s no guarantee the Villans will qualify for Europe for a third successive season as the race for qualification is fierce, though Emery is hopeful his players can finish the season strongly. Progression to the FA Cup semi-finals - thanks to a comfortable 3-0 win over Preston North End - has increased the chances of qualification for the Europa League via that route, too.
“We are increasing our level, our demands,” Emery said during his post-match press conference at Preston.
“We are joining some players who maybe two, three, four years ago were impossible to be playing with Aston Villa. It’s because we are trustful in the project.
“We can as well add some players because we are involved in the Premier League in the top eight, we are involved in Europe as well playing the Conference League last year and this year the Champions League.“
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Unai Emery hints at £40m Aston Villa transfer
Although not named directly, marquee Deadline Day acquisitions Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio are exactly who Emery is talking about when he mentions signings previously out of reach.
Asensio has been discussed as a potential long-term addition as Paris Saint-Germain are open to a summer sale, while Villa have the option to buy Rashford for £40 million when his loan from Manchester United concludes. Emery talking about next season and “adding some players” could be a direct hint at those deals.
As well as securing European football again for next season, winning silverware is central to Emery’s ambitions and there’s a decent chance the 30-year wait for a major trophy can end. But even if that’s not achieved, the campaign will still be considered a success.
“Firstly I am very proud of how the owners and club is responding because we arrived here and were speaking about how much we wanted to work together, increasing and being more demanding than they were at that moment,” Emery added.
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“To play in Europe was the first step we did. To play and be a contender this year - and last year as well in the Conference League - was our next.
“We play to be a contender in this competition (the FA Cup), playing in a semi-final. Hopefully, we can break everything we did last year because we didn’t do more than the semi-final in the Conference League.
“I think progressively the ambition is shown to us - and the owners as well - on the field. we are very responsible and I am very demanding to myself to be my best.”
In other news, Emery responded to a direct question about signing Rashford for the long term.