Aston Villa's dream transfer window as five sign and seven leave in January
Aston Villa have already improved their squad by signing Dutch international Donyell Malen and Monchi is planning to seal more arrivals in the coming days and weeks.
Jaden Philogene left the squad after Malen joined from Borussia Dortmund for £20m. For a similar fee, Philogene headed to Ipswich Town, and although Unai Emery is a firm believer in his potential, he knew that it made sense to sanction his sale to allow Malen to come aboard.
"We are alert and we want to always be ready to improve the squad with the players and, of course, sometimes some players want to leave us for different circumstances as well,” Emery recently said about the window. “We are moving forward with some circumstances like I am telling you until the last day of the window.
READ MORE: Unai Emery speaks out as he slams Aston Villa suspension for Arsenal incident
READ MORE: What Mohamed Salah posted six minutes after Arsenal dropped points against Aston Villa
READ | What Emi Martinez did after Arsenal draw as Ollie Watkins responds to lazy critics
READ | Every word Unai Emery said about 2-2 Arsenal draw, Onana injury, Watkins' form and Maatsen sub
"If we are changing one player, Malen and Jaden, that’s the first. Maybe two or three players more, we can do another deal of some players leaving and some players joining us."
Indeed, Villa are close to wrapping up their second signing of the summer in Andres Garcia, who is poised to join for a fee of around £6m from Levante. The right-back is expected to sign a long-term contract after having his medical.
Garcia has been playing in La Liga 2 this season, but has been identified as a talent who can grow rapidly under Emery. Kosta Nedeljkovic is expected to leave Villa on loan to get minutes under his belt in the second half of the campaign.
Meanwhile, Villa are out to sign another centre-back as Diego Carlos nears an exit from the club. Fenerbahce are trying to get a deal over the line to land Carlos, who is due to enter the final year of his deal in the summer. He was allowed to leave in the summer, but a suitable move never materialised for him.
Once Carlos’ move to Turkey is complete, Villa will be ready to push on to sign Loic Bade from Sevilla. Villa’s president of football operations Monchi has already signed Bade once before and aims to do so again.
Sevilla are in need of funds, so despite securing Bade on a contract until 2029 back in September, they are willing to sell the 24-year-old. Monchi and Damian Vidagany were in attendance to watch Sevilla play Valencia last weekend and would have been impressed by Bade’s performance on the night.
Emi Buendia could move on this month after Emery admitted it could be better for him to play his football elsewhere to regain confidence and get more game time. He is yet to start a league game for Villa this season after missing the whole of the last campaign due to a devastating ACL injury.
Depending on what offers land on the table, Villa could fetch some money which would then balance their spending in this window considering they are also looking to get another two deals over the line for youngsters Yasin Ozcan and Tidiam Gomis.
Elsewhere, Sil Swinkels and goalkeeper Joe Gauci could leave on loan. Gauci’s future would rest on what happens with Robin Olsen, who is said to be of interest to Copenhagen.
Villa will also have to make a decision on Louie Barry, who is expected to either go out on loan or be sold with Celtic set to test the club’s resolve by making a seven-figure offer.
Here’s how Villa’s squad could look after the window closes…
Goalkeepers: Martinez, Olsen, Zych.
Defenders: Cash, Garcia, Konsa, Bade, Bogarde, Torres, Mings, Digne, Maatsen.
Midfielders: Kamara, Onana, Tielemans, Barkley, McGinn, Ramsey.
Forwards: Bailey, Malen, Rogers, Watkins, Duran.
