The 2022 World Cup is over but the January transfer window is nearly here. So Unai Emery should now look to try and sell these five Aston Villa players – including Philippe Coutinho.
Emery has enjoyed an extended period to run the rule over his team after replacing Steven Gerrard on November 1. The Villans sacked the 42-year-old after they lost 3-0 at Fulham in October. It extended their four Premier League match winless run after two wins this term.
Aston Villa bounced back after parting with Gerrard with interim boss Aaron Danks taking a 4-0 win over Brentford. Emery would assume the helm and enjoy a perfect start with a 3-1 win over Manchester United. The 51-year-old also got a 2-1 win at Brighton & Hove Albion.
Emery’s perfect start as the Aston Villa manager saw the Birmingham club climb from 16th to 12th in the table. They will resume their Premier League campaign at home to Liverpool on Boxing Day. The Reds travel to Villa Park eager to improve on their sixth-place ranking.
Having six weeks without a top-flight game should see Emery tackle the Liverpool meeting knowing who makes his best XI. The pause for the World Cup in Qatar may have also been the final nail in some players’ coffins ahead of the Spaniard tackling the mid-season sales.
So, with that in mind, HITC Football has looked at five Aston Villa players Emery should try to sell in January. Reports suggest the Spaniard is also striving to move some of them on…
Philippe Coutinho headlines the Aston Villa players Unai Emery can sell in January
Coutinho is the headline Aston Villa player Emery should try to sell in January, despite only joining permanently this May. Gerrard convinced the Villans to purchase the Brazilian from Barcelona for £17m following his initial six-month stay with the Villans on loan last season.
But while his temporary move started with promise, his permanent switch has so far been a disaster. The 30-year-old provided five goals and three assists over his 19 Premier League games in 2021/22. Yet Aston Villa would not pay the £33m option in their loan agreement.
Villa Park chiefs will be glad they negotiated an almost half-price deal in the summer, too. Coutinho has not scored or assisted a single goal in 12 Premier League appearances so far this season. Per SofaScore, he has also only directed six of his 16 shots on target this term.
The 69-cap Brazil international’s plight as a permanent Aston Villa star has underwhelmed Emery, it seems. Coluna do Fla reports the Villans are already prepared to sell Coutinho in 2023. He is also a target for Flamengo, who are studying the conditions to agree a transfer.
Aston Villa must sell Morgan Sanson in January if any club wants the player
Aston Villa must try to sell Morgan Sanson in January but will have to hope a club wants to sign the player, as well. The midfielder cost the Villans £16m to sign from Marseille during Dean Smith’s tenure in January 2021. But the 28-year-old has still only played 21 matches.
Just 20 of the former France Under-21 star’s games in claret-and-blue have also been top-flight fixtures. Sanson has watched 27 Premier League matches from the bench and sat out 28 after a raft of injuries. He has suffered from knee and hamstring problems since joining.
A constant fight to stay fit has seen Sanson start just six Premier League games with Aston Villa so far. He is also under contract in Birmingham on a £48k-a-week wage to June 2025.
Unai Emery could sell Emi Buendia to sign his own Aston Villa players
Emery could look to sell Emi Buendia in January to sign his own Aston Villa players with the funds. The 25-year-old cost the Villans a club-record £33m, rising to £38m with add-ons, in June 2021. He also left Norwich City to join Villa as the Championship Player of the Season.
But since switching East Anglia for the West Midlands, Buendia has only offered five goals and six assists in 50 Premier League outings. He has also only scored once and is yet to lay on an assist this term. The one-cap Argentine has played in 15 league fixtures this season.
Buendia has shown he can cause Premier League teams problems with his skill on the ball. Yet the infrequency at which the 5 ft 7 dynamo delivers an end product – he scored in the second game of the season – could leave Emery seeking a replacement in the near future.
Unai Emery can atone for Steven Gerrard’s decision on Marvelous Nakamba
Emery can atone for Gerrard rejecting offers for Marvelous Nakamba by selling the Aston Villa player in January. The Herald reported in August that Fulham and Nottingham Forest made offers for the Zimbabwe midfielder. But the Villans elected to keep the 28-year-old.
The Cottagers and Reds also put lucrative sums on the table on the back of them securing promotion into the top-flight. Yet Gerrard stood in Marco Silva and Steve Cooper’s way as he preferred Nakamba stayed and agreed to extend his £32.5k-a-week deal beyond 2024.
As it stands, Aston Villa are still yet to agree a new contract with Nakamba. The 26-cap ace has also not played a single second of Premier League football this term. He has watched eight of the Villans’ 15 top-flight fixtures as an unused substitute under Gerrard and Danks.
Johan Lange has already told Frederic Guilbert to find himself a new club
Aston Villa sporting director Johan Lange has already told Frederic Guilbert to find himself a new club. Birmingham Live reported in November that the Villans chief is keen to offload the defender in January. Emery also does not plan on including the Frenchman in his Villa side.
Lange instructed Guilbert and his agent to find potential suitors as Aston Villa do not want him to leave for free next June. The 27-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season. He agreed to a four-and-a-half-year, £40k-a-week deal in January 2019 in a £5m transfer.
But the former Stade Malherbe Caen star has only made three of his 32 appearances in all competitions since his debut season at Villa Park. Smith afforded Guilbert 29 outings over the 2019/20 campaign. Yet the right-back has since featured exclusively in EFL Cup games.
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