Aston Villa's £90m mighty summer transfer window - according to intriguing prediction

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Aston Villa's summer transfer window has been predicted, ahead of their Champions League adventure

There is understandable excitement enveloping Aston Villa this summer after Unai Emery’s side claimed a fourth placed finish in the Premier League and secured a place in next season’s Champions League.

The stunning form of the likes of Leon Bailey, Douglas Luiz and Ollie Watkins ensured Villa saw off competition from Tottenham Hotspur to return to European football’s top table for the first time since 1983. There will be a need for Emery to strengthen his squad and several major decisions lie in wait as the former Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain manager looks to build on what has been one of the most memorable seasons in the club’s recent history.

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There are several players entering the final 12 months of their current deals at Villa Park and a number of youngster will return from loan spells elsewhere. Competing in four different competitions will mean Emery must also boost his ranks - and we here at 3AddedMinutes wanted an indication of what could lie ahead. So we fired up Football Manager 2024 to see what moves the world’s most popular management simulation believes the Villa Park will take over the coming months:

Goalkeepers

Well, this is a rather low key start, as the only departure in the goalkeeping ranks is a permanent deal that has taken youngster Filip Marschall to MK Dons after the academy product spent the season on loan with the League Two club. However, there’s no change elsewhere as Emery sticks with his current senior goalkeepers and clings on to Emi Martinez despite growing interest in his services.

Emery’s goalkeeping options: Emi Martinez, Robin Olsen, Joe Gauci.

Defenders

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Now we are talking. Some proper movement in the transfer market - although there is probably some surprise that Emery’s first move was to hand over £27m to sign Manchester United full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The former Crystal Palace star will remain Villa’s most expensive signing of the window as Emery opts for a slightly more prudent approach to building his squad. That is shown in a free transfer move for Mario Hermoso after he left Spanish giants Atletico Madrid. There are departures as Kortney Hause and Callum Chambers head to Bologna and Fulham respectively at a combined cost of £4m.

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Emery’s defensive options: Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Mario Hermoso, Matty Cash, Diego Carlos, Tyrone Mings, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne, Alex Moreno.

Midfielders

This is where the bulk of the sales came as Emery shifted on some players that many would say have no future at Villa Park in the real world. Morgan Sanson was moved on to French club OGC Nice in a £3.4m deal and Emi Buendia also made his way to France after joining Nice in an £8m move. Leander Dendoncker was the third and final midfielder to leave as he joined Italian club Frosinone at a cost of £3m. The big money signing in midfield was Sweden international Samuel Gustafson as he completed a £9m move to Villa Park and he was joined Wilfred Ndidi, who joined on a free transfer after leaving Leicester City.

Emery’s midfield options: Wilfred Ndidi, Samuel Gustafson, Youri Tielemans, Douglas Luiz, Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey.

Forwards

Kyogo Furuhashi scored twice at the weekend but has had a quiet scoring season in the Premiership with Celtic by this standards.Kyogo Furuhashi scored twice at the weekend but has had a quiet scoring season in the Premiership with Celtic by this standards.
Kyogo Furuhashi scored twice at the weekend but has had a quiet scoring season in the Premiership with Celtic by this standards.

There were three new additions to Emery’s forward ranks - although the mainstays of last season’s squad all remain with Leon Bailey, Moussa Diaby, Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins all still at Villa Park. However, they will have some competition for a place in the starting eleven after Emery handed over £37m to bring in a trio of forwards. The most costly was the £16m signing of Celtic’s Japan international Kyogo Furuhashi and he was joined at Villa Park by AC Milan’s Lorenzo Colombo (10m) and RB Salzburg winger Amankwah Forson, who was signed for £11m.

Emery’s forward options: Amankwah Forson, Lorenzo Colombo, Kyogo Furuhashi, Leon Bailey, Moussa Diaby, Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins.

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