Yahoo News The key transfer deal Aston Villa must get right to give Unai Emery his squad wish
Aston Villa have nine days to complete their summer transfer business before the window shuts at 11pm on August 30.
Unai Emery has welcomed seven new players into his squad so far this summer, but Samuel Iling-Junior could follow Lewis Dobbin out the door on loan. Former Everton winger Dobbin joined West Brom on a season-long loan and given the competition for places in that position of Emery's squad, Iling-Junior is assessing his options too.
Ian Maatsen, Ross Barkley, Amadou Onana and Jaden Philogene are all excellent additions this summer, adding depth and quality to Emery's ranks. Meanwhile, Emi Buendia and Jacob Ramsey have both returned from injury and Kosta Nedeljkovic has joined the squad after signing for the club back in January from Crvena Zvezda.
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It looked like Jhon Duran would be leaving Villa earlier this summer, but a move to Chelsea never materialised in June, while West Ham weren't willing to meet Villa's £40m valuation. The 20-year-old striker came off the bench at the London Stadium on Saturday to score the winning goal against the Hammers as three of Emery's substitutes combined.
Maatsen touched the ball down for Ramsey to find Duran in the box, before the Colombia international flashed the ball past Alphonse Areola. Villa's options from off the bench against West Ham were as strong as they have been for a Premier League game under Emery, who is also still without Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings through injury.
Mings is expected to return to full training at the start of next month, while Kamara could do the same later in September. Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea didn't even make the bench at the weekend, such is the depth Emery now has at his disposal.
Injuries and tiredness threatened to derail Villa's season last term, but they managed to crawl over the line to qualify for the Champions League in the end. They were however knocked out of the Europa Conference League semi-finals stage by Olympiacos.
Emery wanted to end this summer window with two players per position without there being a drop off in quality. Of course, Villa have several players who make the XI without question, like Emi Martinez and Ollie Watkins, but across the team, Emery knows he can count on a squad consisting over around 20 outfield players who are all competing for minutes every week.
Duran has proven an effective back-up to Watkins, while Emery has an abundance of options in the other forward areas of the pitch. Morgan Rogers, Jacob Ramsey, John McGinn and Emi Buendia can all play off the left or in support of the striker. Leon Bailey and Jaden Philogene are strong options on the right flank.
In midfield, Emery likes to play with a double pivot consisting of a ball-player and a more combative partner. In the win over West Ham, Youri Tielemans and Onana played excellently together. Ross Barkley and McGinn can also play in the role Tielemans carried out, while Kamara will likely take his place in the double pivot once he has returned from injury because he is one of the best holding midfielders in the division. Barrenechea is also an option here, but it is unclear whether he will head out on loan or not considering the depth in this department.
Villa have one of the best left-back duos in the league in Maatsen and Lucas Digne, whereas at left centre-back, Mings will start to compete with Pau Torres from October onwards. The only question mark over Villa's depth comes at the right side of their defence.
Ezri Konsa can play as a centre-back or a right-back, but if he picked up an injury or was otherwise unavailable, Villa only have one senior right-back in Cash, plus the young Nedeljkovic, and right-sided centre-back in Diego Carlos. The latter could still leave the club before the end of the window and Villa are planning in case he does depart.
Feyenoord's Lutsharel Geertruida has been identified as a target because, like Konsa, he can also play at centre-back and right-back. The Dutch international would give Villa added depth across both positions. If Villa could secure Geertruida before the window shuts, he would mark a successful window considering the sales which Monchi has had to sanction this summer.
