2024/25 Premier League Preview - Aston Villa

Unai Emery’s side had an incredible campaign last season. Their 4th place finish on 68 points is their best since the days of former manager Ron Atkinson and Premier League legend Dean Saunders in the 1992/93 season. With Champions League qualification and further additions to the squad, it looks as though Emery is ready to continue their magnificent form and take on Europe’s elite as well as putting a spanner in the works of the “big six”. Villa took 17 of their 68 points from these sides with only Manchester United getting the better of them both home and away. Their most important win last season had huge implications for how the Premier League season ended when they beat Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates. 

Firstly, it had a huge impact on the direction of the Premier League trophy. Up until this game, the title was in Arsenal’s hands but this result moved the trophy over to the blue side of Manchester. Secondly for Villa, it put them 3 points clear of Spurs in 4th, a spot they ultimately held on to. 

Recreating last season’s heroics will be a tall order, but being the successful veteran of football management that he is, Unai Emery will know of the job he has ahead of him and will not shy away from taking it to the teams at the height of the table yet again.

Villa’s performances have been fantastic under Emery. The squad have bought into his philosophy since his appointment in October of 2022 and the results speak for themselves. Emery overhauled their system instantly, creating a larger focus on offensive pressing and possession, which was displayed perfectly across the season where they averaged 53.1% possession and had 55 assists as a team. The main catalyst behind Villa’s excellent form is none other than England’s Euro 2024 semi final hero, Ollie Watkins. Watkins notched 19 goals and 13 assists in his last campaign; his assists being the most in the league. There is absolutely no doubt that he is going to be putting up similar numbers this season. His consistency leading the line for Villa has seen him score at least 11 goals in each of his last 4 seasons.

They have by no means been quiet in the transfer window either, bringing in new faces last season such as Pau Torres, Youri Tielemans and Moussa Diaby who all seamlessly fitted into the system and have made essential contributions. Their activity definitely hasn’t slowed down this summer either. They’ve made some very early moves for some big money players and have already eclipsed the £100 million mark in terms of expenditure and they don’t plan on finishing up their transfer business any time soon, with another deal over the line worth £50 million for Everton central midfielder Amadou Onana. 

They have however had a couple of significant losses in the form of Douglas Luiz and last season’s signing Moussa Diaby. Luiz was one of their most influential players since his arrival from Manchester City in 2019, but Villa do appear to have received a very valuable package in return from his new club Juventus. Villa have acquired midfielder Enzo Barrenechea and winger Samuel Iling-Junior in a swap plus cash (£20m) deal valued in the region of £50-60 million. 

The transfer of Moussa Diaby probably comes as quite the surprise to Villa fans after his arrival a year ago from Bayer Leverkusen. He was a productive player for them and a regular starter, featuring in all 38 Premier League games last season. The biggest surprise of all is that Villa appear to be receiving a very similar fee to what they paid last summer (£50 million). This likely points to the move being pushed on the club from the player's side rather than Villa seeing him as a player they wanted out of the squad.

The other likely exit is forward Jhon Duran, with West Ham and Chelsea keen, but both appear to be hesitant to meet Villa’s asking price of £40 million and both clubs have now signed other players in forward positions. Duran’s wish to leave the club in search of more starts looks to have gone very quiet lately and it’s unknown as to whether he will end up at a new club.

Villa face serious competition to hold onto a top 4 spot for a second season in a row but they do appear to be making carefully thought-out decisions with their recruitment in order to add squad depth and first team quality players to stay competitive in the Premier League, as well as an extended Champions League campaign in it’s new format. 

Tottenham, Chelsea, Newcastle and Manchester United will all be desperate to return to the top 4 and each appear to have made moves in the transfer market to put themselves in the best position to bring themselves back into the Champions League spots. Each of Villa’s matches against these teams will feel like a 6 pointer and it’s crucial they get results straight away so they don’t find themselves falling behind and playing catch up.

League prediction: 5th

Squad grade: B+

Manager grade: A-