Aston Villa are gearing up for another busy summer transfer window
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Aston Villa manager Unai Emery
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
The dust is settling after Aston Villa’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.
Their 2-0 defeat at Manchester United was fraught with controversy after referee Thomas Bramall made a huge mistake by preventing Morgan Rogers from opening the scoring in the second half.
His error of judgment compounded what was a bad day at the office for Villa, who didn’t deserve to win at Old Trafford anyway.
It’ll be Europa League football for Villa next season, a competition Unai Emery has won four times in his career.
Europa League opportunity awaits
A three-time winner with Sevilla, Emery then lifted the Europa League with Villarreal in 2021, beating United on penalties.
Villa reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League this season, so anything less than reaching the semi-finals would probably be deemed a disappointment.
Especially as the Premier League’s 16th and 17th placed clubs competed in the final this season, there will be no excuse for Villa not to go far.
They reached the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League last term but lost over two legs to Olympiacos, limping over the line given their shallow squad, which had been impacted by injuries throughout.
From the big five leagues, here are the teams who have qualified for next season’s Europa League:
Italy: Roma, Bologna
France: Lille, Lyon
Germany: Freiburg, Stuttgart
Spain: Celta Vigo, Real Betis
Portuguese giants Porto have also qualified, but they haven’t competed well against their domestic and European targets since the departure of former manager Sérgio Conceição.
Of course, Crystal Palace are also set to play in the Europa League, and the Eagles have had Villa’s number in the past couple of seasons.
They’ve won four of their last five games against Villa in competitions, scoring 16 goals in that time.
How Villa can raise £100m in transfer sales
Villa need to continue to raise money from player sales to stay on the right side of the financial rules imposed by the Premier League and UEFA.
Last summer, Omari Kellyman, Douglas Luiz, and Tim Iroegbunam raised around £70m, before Moussa Diaby’s wages were taken off the books following his sale to Al Ittihad.
His £50m sale was then followed by the £65m departure of Jhon Duran in the January window, while Diego Carlos and Jaden Philogene were also moved on for roughly £30m combined.
Emi Martinez could leave Villa in the upcoming window, while Leon Bailey is also expected to depart.
RB Leipzig will likely take up their option to sign Kosta Nedeljkovic on a permanent basis for around £12m, while Emi Buendia and Alex Moreno are expected to find new clubs too after their spells at Bayer Leverkusen and Nottingham Forest ended respectively.
Lucas Digne, who has a year left on his contract, could also move on from Villa as he is a high earner.
Those five players could fetch combined transfer fees of around £100m for Villa this summer.
There is interest in other players in Emery’s squad too, but there’s no need to flog several key members unless huge offers land on the table.
Chelsea's interest in Morgan Rogers
Following Villa’s failure to qualify for the Champions League, Chelsea — who finished fourth — could be emboldened to pursue a move for Morgan Rogers.
The England international is known to have admirers at Stamford Bridge, but Villa do not want to sell him.
The Telegraph reported last week that Villa would not accept any fee for Rogers, whose value will likely increase again next season if he continues to develop.
Rogers recorded 29 goal contributions in 54 appearances across all competitions this campaign.
He joined Villa in January 2024 from Middlesbrough in a deal worth £8m, rising to £15m with add-ons.
During negotiations over his transfer, Boro and Villa agreed to insert a 20 percent sell-on clause.
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