Times are changing at Aston Villa. The Villans have just hired Unai Emery to replace Steven Gerrard, and in Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, they have two very ambitious owners.
According to the Daily Mail, the pair were willing to pay one of the highest salaries in the entire Premier League to land an elite coach, and you would presume that Emery will now be given a significant transfer budget to play with.
However, Aston Villa fans should be concerned about the Spaniard having so much money to spend.
Why Aston Villa fans should be worried about Emery
Well, the 50-year-old has been blessed with a huge transfer budget in the past, specifically when he took over from Laurent Blanc at PSG in 2016.
Emery spent £40m on Julian Draxler during his time in Paris, with the Germany international going on to struggle at the Parc des Princes.
The Spaniard also spent £22m on Goncalo Guedes and £21.2m on Jese Rodriguez – the pair failed to live up to expectations at PSG, with the latter netting just two goals, whereas Guedes failed to score.
Emery also paid £34m to sign Grzegorz Krychowiak, who underperformed before being loaned out to West Brom.
There was also the famous club-record signing of Nicolas Pepe at Arsenal.
Emery paid £72m for the Ivory Coast international, who has since been frozen out by Mikel Arteta and loaned to OGC Nice – the Ivorian is now worth a fraction of that sum.
Aston Villa must help Emery
Clearly, the Spaniard has had a few blots on his copybook when it comes to recruitment.
Therefore, Johan Lange – Director of Football at Villa Park – must ensure he helps Emery get it right, by focusing heavily on the data and undergoing strong risk analysis.
The Villans have already made a few errors in the market with their millions, and Everton’s relegation battle from last season just goes to show what happens when wealthy clubs keep getting it wrong.
Hopefully, Emery spends wisely in the Midlands, and creates a team for Aston Villa fans to be proud of.
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