With less than three months remaining of a season that could make or break their medium-term future, Aston Villa are fighting battles on multiple fronts.
It is difficult enough on the pitch, where Unai Emery’s men take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, following their return to winning ways at Lille in the Europa League. At the turn of the year, a place in last season’s Champions League looked virtually certain.
But after one win in six in the league, Villa can sense it slipping through their fingers and without the financial rewards that come with it, they risk slipping back into the pack.
Emery has won the Europa League four times as a coach but the route to the final is tough and given Villa’s current form, there is no guarantee of success.
The problem for Villa is that their struggles off the pitch are even more demanding. Just when Villa had eased their financial issues in the Premier League by selling their women’s team to the holding company that owns the club, along came UEFA with another puzzle. They allow clubs to spend a maximum of 70 per cent of their revenue on ‘football costs’ – a tough ask for Villa, who have a high wage bill and cannot generate the same income as England’s wealthiest clubs.
Daily Mail Sport understands Villa are likely to have to make a significant sum from player sales this summer – regardless of whether they qualify for the Champions League. Failing to do so last season meant the club’s balance sheet took a hit and their best way to plug that gap remains to sell their most valuable assets.
Unai Emery’s men travel to Manchester United on Sunday, a massive game in the hunt for a Champions League spot, but head into the match in poor form domestically
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| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Arsenal | 30 | 20 | 7 | 3 | +37 | 67 |
| 2. Man City | 29 | 18 | 6 | 5 | +32 | 60 |
| 3. Man Utd | 29 | 14 | 9 | 6 | +11 | 51 |
| 4. Aston Villa | 29 | 15 | 6 | 8 | +5 | 51 |
| 5. Chelsea | 29 | 13 | 9 | 7 | +19 | 48 |
| 6. Liverpool | 29 | 14 | 6 | 9 | +9 | 48 |
Villa are finding it tough commercially, too. Premier League clubs agreed three years ago to ban gambling firms from the front of their shirts from 2026-27, meaning Villa’s deal with Betano is drawing to a close.
Like many clubs, Villa have yet to find a replacement and there is an acceptance that the new deal may not match Betano’s, which is said to be worth up to £20million per year.
Villa hired Francesco Calvo, who was a senior executive at Juventus, Roma and Barcelona, to become their new ‘president of business operations’ last summer and the Italian’s role is arguably as important as Emery’s.
Because unless Villa can become a more attractive corporate proposition, it is very difficult to see how they can break into the elite permanently.
Emery the workaholic
After Villa’s painful home defeat by Chelsea last week, Emery used the word ‘structure’ 17 times in an 11-minute post-match press conference. Along with ‘demanding’ it is one of his favourites and in tough times, Emery usually falls back on what he knows.
When Villa did not score in the league until mid-September and failed to win until the end of that month, Emery changed nothing. Sticking to his principles worked back then, as Villa won 12 out of 13 in mid-season to roar into the Champions League spots, and he is not about to change anything now.
Yet Emery has appeared emotionally drained at times, particularly when Villa lost 2-0 at bottom club Wolves a fortnight ago. Nobody is harder on Emery than the man himself and if he feels he has made a mistake in selection or tactics, it eats him up more than most.
He shows no signs of slowing down, though: his response to the defeat by Chelsea was to dive into a forensic analysis of that game, the loss at Wolves and the 1-1 home draw with Leeds – a run which saw them slip out of the top three for the first time since November.
Focusing on the Chelsea game in particular, Emery felt Villa lost some of the qualities that have made them so successful under him. He wanted them to become compact again, defend the middle of the pitch better and by keeping their shape, allow players like Morgan Rogers to flourish. Though nothing special in terms of performance, at least the 1-0 win at Lille was a step in the right direction.
The international break may be coming at the right time for Emery, though. As much as anything, the 54-year-old looks as though he could do with a few good nights’ sleep.
A 4-1 thumping at Villa Park by top-four rivals Chelsea last week was a huge blow to their chances of returning to the Champions League
Matty Cash (centre) looks dejected as Wolves’ Joao Gomes opens the scoring in Villa’s defeat at Molineux a fortnight ago
After meeting West Ham at home on March 22, Villa do not play again until April 8 at the earliest – and if Lille knock them out of the Europa League, they will have a three-week break before Nottingham Forest on April 11. Even a workaholic like Emery will be forced to take some downtime either side of Easter and it could be exactly what he needs to get Villa firing again.
As one of the best coaches in Europe, his future will naturally be discussed. Will Emery eventually tire of the restrictive rules as he chases his dream of winning the Champions League?
At this stage, there is no sense at Villa that he will go at the end of the season. But they will have noticed the links to Real Madrid and while Emery is one of the highest-paid managers in the world and has total control at Villa, it would not pay to be complacent.
The Martinez Factor
Whether by design or otherwise, Emi Martinez is rarely out of the spotlight. Along with Tyrone Mings, the Argentine is the most forceful personality at Villa and when fully switched on, he is a serious force both on and off the pitch. Yet if his focus slips, it is not only his goalkeeping that takes a hit.
Martinez spent most of last summer keen to leave Villa, even though he had signed a lucrative new contract less than a year earlier. He did not play in the 3-0 home defeat by Crystal Palace at the end of August and this season, Ezri Konsa has had the captain’s armband when John McGinn has been absent.
Even though Villa have never said explicitly that Martinez has been stripped of the vice-captaincy, the evidence is hard to ignore. No longer is he announced as ‘the world’s No 1’ when the team is read out at Villa Park.
Daily Mail Sport understands that between the end of last season and the final days of the summer window, Martinez’s conduct raised a few eyebrows in the squad.
Though Emery is not the sort of manager who bows to player power, clipping Martinez’s wings felt like the right move at the time.
Goalkeeper Emi Martinez (pictured) raised some eyebrows with his conduct last summer, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he departs in the next transfer window
Nobody would be surprised if Martinez leaves Villa this summer, especially given the club’s financial pressures. In all probability, he will try to help Argentina retain the World Cup and then seek a new challenge.
There were offers from the Saudi Pro League and Turkey last summer and while Martinez rejected them then, he may feel differently this time.
Martinez is a proud man, though, and will not want his Villa legacy tarnished. His red card on the final day of last season at Old Trafford hastened Villa to the defeat that cost them a Champions League spot. Then, United ditched a move for Martinez in favour of Senne Lammens.
Martinez would love to show them they got it wrong.
Villa’s catch-22
Clubs outside England’s wealthy elite believe the current rules reward performance off the pitch more than on it.
Because Villa are not a revenue-generating monster like Manchester United or Liverpool, they will usually have to sell players to ensure they abide by the financial regulations. If you are frequently selling stars, though, how on earth do you keep up with the richest clubs?
This is where new transfer chief Roberto Olabe will become a key figure this summer. Monchi’s two years at Villa produced a messy transfer policy but there is optimism that Olabe will do better.
Villa are braced for bids for Rogers, their highest-value asset, and midfielder Youri Tielemans this summer, while Martinez could also go. Emery will always drive transfers but his long-time ally Olabe is a calmer, more studious character than the combustible Monchi.
Villa are braced for bids for Morgan Rogers (right), their highest-value asset, and midfielder Youri Tielemans (left) this summer
Roberto Olabe should bring an end to the last-minute panicking of last summer – they spent £30m on Evann Guessand (centre) and then Emery let him join Crystal Palace in January
That should bring an end to the last-minute panicking of last summer, when Villa signed Harvey Elliott only for Emery to decide he did not really want him after all. They spent £30m on Evann Guessand and then Emery let him join Crystal Palace on loan in January.
During his time at Real Sociedad, Olabe made clever signings like Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino and Alexander Isak without breaking the bank.
As long as he is given the space to do so, he can have similar success at Villa. The next few seasons may depend on it.
