Aston Villa truth is clear and January transfer window is about to prove it
After their first match of 2025, Aston Villa find themselves four points off the top four in the Premier League and wedged in the top eight of the Champions League with two matches to play. Not bad, is it?
Unai Emery and his players know they still have gears to get through to find their best performance levels, but their domestic and European standings suggest this has been a successful first half of the campaign. Much has been said about Villa’s drop-off from last season, but the addition of Champions League football was always going to test a squad which is mostly inexperienced in the demands of Europe’s elite club competition.
Villa also headed into the campaign after a difficult summer window where Emery was forced to part with two big players in Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby. Youri Tielemans and Ross Barkley have helped fill the void left by Luiz, while Amadou Onana is still adapting to what Emery wants of him following his £50m arrival from Everton.
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Ian Maatsen has shown plenty of promise in his appearances off the bench, but Lucas Digne has kept his place because he has been one of the club’s most consistent performers since the start of last season. Jaden Philogene, meanwhile, is expected to leave Villa on loan this month as the club look to add more competition for Bailey.
Bailey scored 10 goals in the league last season and also registered nine assists. His performance levels increased dramatically after the arrival of Diaby, who pushed him to keep his place in the side. The Jamaica international has struggled for confidence so far this season, but opened his account in the win over Leicester City last time out.
If Villa can seal a deal with Borussia Dortmund to sign Donyell Malen, then they will be strengthening in that area of the pitch. Emery believes in Philogene’s potential, but he needs game time elsewhere to continue developing.
Villa are also in the market to sign a right-back with Kosta Nedeljkovic likely to leave on loan. Monchi tried to sign Lutsharel Geertruida from Feyenoord last summer, but Villa had no flexibility in their budget to get a deal over the line.
With the addition of a right-back and versatile forward this month, Villa will be in a stronger place than when they started the month. However, they will be relying on Tyrone Mings being able to stay fit for the next two months with Pau Torres sidelined with a broken metatarsal.
Villa enjoyed a sensational start to the season last term and managed to maintain strong form in the middle third of the campaign. But as their European exploits continued into May, they only managed to win three of their last 12 matches in all competitions.
This season, Villa will have to finish strong to make up for dropped points in the first half of the campaign and a poor away record. Unless they make the semi-finals of the Champions League, they’ll have a week to prepare for each of their final six games of the season against Newcastle United (H), Manchester City (A), Fulham (H), Bournemouth (A), Tottenham (H) and Manchester United (A).
