- Villa have had a terrific season so far, sitting second in the Premier League table and advancing in the Europa Conference League and FA Cup.
Importantly, we have key players returning from injury this month, which will undoubtedly help us maintain our fine form into the second half of the season, but with the transfer window open for business, naturally there is interest in what activity the club might see to strengthen the squad.
Furthermore, he appeared to rule out the possibility of Jhon Duran leaving this month despite concerns about his future, although the Spanish tactician did clarify that Villa are open to listen to bids for both Bertrand Traore and Calum Chambers, who seems poised to leave.
“Of course, we have to accept the rules and have to accept, for example, if we want to sign someone we have to let one leave from our squad,” he told the media, as per BirminghamLive. “Then, with Financial Fair Play we will have to accept the rules and how we are.
“Progressively, with the owners and our work here, every moment we are having, we are going to increase getting better our demands to improve the squad.
“Now we are second in the table, in the next round of the Conference League and the FA Cup, I believe in our players. We are playing getting stronger, more comfortable with more confidence.
“Of course, always we are going to try and improve our squad. There are two players, I told you, can leave. Others maybe can also leave but right now it is not so clear. With Chambers and Traore, their situation is clear. The possibility to sign players to replace them, we are analysing players to do that.”
Emery noted that Duran’s “commitment is progressively better,” and with the necessity for a back-up option as well as a player capable of offering a new dynamic in the final third, the Colombian international will play an important part for us between now and the end of the season.
“He’s playing and making an impact; he’s young.” We need experiences, and he’s here having them with us,” Emery said in his pre-match press conference. “We need a second striker because we need to try to be strong with two players per position in our squad.” Watkins and Jhon Duran are the players. I’m doing a lot of work with him, and his dedication is becoming better.
“When we talked about the decision to sign him one year ago, the process we are doing with him is it.”
On the one hand, hearing how FFP will continue to limit us in comparison to the more established clubs in the league is both disappointing and frustrating, as this window will have been seen by many as a big opportunity to really make a splash and cement our chances of at least qualifying for the Champions League.
Regardless of what Emery says, he makes a solid point about the quality of this present group and how essential it will be to have injured players back who can function as reinforcements in their own right.
Both Pau Torres and Youri Tielemans are expected to return this weekend against Everton, with Lucas Digne likely to be back by the end of the month. That will make us a more complete unit as we’re still waiting to see the best of Alex Moreno and Jacob Ramsey this season after their long-term setbacks too.
When combined with guys like Duran, who still have a lot of room for improvement and can give so much more, there is a lot of untapped potential and talent in this squad that can help us keep moving forward.
With Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings facing a longer road to recovery and possibly missing the entire season, we must still consider their impact when they do return, so we must remain cautious in our transfer dealings and only sign players who significantly improve what we already have.
