Aston Villa should have signed Omar Marmoush and James Garner to cement their UEFA Champions League push.placeholder image
Aston Villa should have signed Omar Marmoush and James Garner to cement their UEFA Champions League push. | Getty Images
It could have been a far more exciting winter transfer window for Aston Villa if they pushed for these signings.
Aston Villa, well and truly in the fight to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League, are enjoying a far better season than many could have ever expected or hoped.
The Villans got off to a horrendous start as they failed to score in any of their first four Premier League matches, but a run of 14 wins in the 19 top-flight games since has Unai Emery’s side in third. As it stands, there’s a buffer of seven points to sixth-placed Liverpool, so a top-five finish is very much on the cards.
But could Villa have improved their Champions League chances if they approached the winter transfer window differently? Quite possibly. Villa were never going to be able to spend freely due to PSR and SCR restrictions but there could have been some workarounds to get some important deals done.
Villa should have signed £59m Man City gem
One big-money target Villa were linked with consistently throughout January was Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush. As much as Villa wouldn’t have been able to afford an outright move for the Egypt international, they could have at least tried to tempt City to accept a loan offer with an option or obligation to buy.
Lacking game time at the Etihad Stadium, Marmoush has played merely 281 minutes of Premier League action so far this season. As you’d expect, it has been very tricky to get in the team with Erling Haaland leading the line, and there hasn’t been been a spot in a shadow striker role or off the flanks.
There’s no surprise, then, that Marmoush has been heavily linked with a move away. Signed for £59 million plus add-ons from Eintracht Frankfurt last January, the 26-year-old has averaged a goal or an assist every 146 minutes since he joined City. Marmoush deserves to start at a top club and Villa could have offered a guaranteed spot in Emery’s XI as an inside forward.
We’re well aware that money doesn’t grow on trees and Villa weren’t suddenly going to pluck tens of millions out of nowhere, but taking the gamble on signing a player of Marmoush’s quality, knowing he could be the difference between Champions League football or not, could have been a great play. After all, qualifying for the Champions League would offset the cost of signing Marmoush and more.
Everton star was available for bargain price
Another signing Villa perhaps could have made - if they pushed a little harder - was Everton’s James Garner. The Athletic recently revealed that the midfielder was high up on Villa’s list as his contract was up at the end of the season. But Villa didn’t move quickly enough as Garner signed a new deal.
The Athletic’s report detailed Villa having an interest but never properly acting on it. Had Villa made an official approach, then perhaps they could have convinced Garner to leave the Hill Dickinson Stadium rather than agree new terms.
Garner, who joined Everton from Manchester United in 2022 for around £15 million inclusive of add-ons, has recently been in the conversation for a surprise England call-up. The 24-year-old has become a pivotal player for Everton, predominantly in defensive midfield but also in either full-back role or as a central midfielder.
The former England Under-21 international, who spent two seasons on loan at Nottingham Forest in the Championship before making his move to Everton, is in the top 14 per cent of Premier League midfielders for defensive contributions so far this season. Garner has also contributed two goals and three assists so far in 2025/26.
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