1 week Ago By [email protected] (John Townley)
With nine days remaining of the winter transfer window, Monchi remains busy to get deals over the line after already recruiting Dutch international Donyell Malen and right-back Andres Garcia. Jaden Philogene left the squad after Malen joined from Borussia Dortmund for £20m last week. 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 earlier in the window. “We are moving forward with some circumstances like I am telling you until the last day of the window. READ | Unai Emery makes Jhon Duran request amid £80m Aston Villa transfer claim READ | Aston Villa 'join chase' for Matheus Cunha transfer as Wolves stance explained "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." Villa then wrapped up their second signing of the summer in Garcia, who joined for a fee of around £6m from Levante. The 21-year-old right-back signed a long-term contract with the club after appearing on Monchi's radar.
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 has joined Fenerbahce.
He was allowed to leave in the summer, but a suitable move never materialised for him - he has now boosted Villa's coffers by about £8.5m. Villa were ready to push on to sign Loic Bade from Sevilla, though a move appears to have hit the rocks.
An agreement between the two clubs would have been met eventually, but the player is said to be settled in Spain and is happy to continue. Bade was recently called up to the France national team and is believed to have doubts over his playing time at Villa due to Ezri Konsa being Emery's first choice right-sided centre-back. He also signed a deal until 2029 back in September.
Villa have alternative options to replace Carlos and will press ahead in making a signing in the coming days because Emery is now light on centre-backs. With Pau Torres injured, Lamare Bogarde is currently the only other player who could step in, while Sil Swinkels is yet to make his Premier League debut. “Of course, Diego Carlos left in the last week, and we have to replace him, and of course we are as well focusing on which players could be potential players to replace Diego Carlos," Emery said.
Boubacar Kamara of Aston Villa (Image: Offside via Getty Images) Emery has added three midfielders to his squad since the 2023 summer window with Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley all joining. Of course, with Douglas Luiz departing to Juventus last summer, new additions were required. But one of the most important players in this side is Boubacar Kamara, who performs a role which few players can in the league, at least at such a high level.
Villa want to secure him on a new contract and that piece of business is a priority for the club. Whether that gets sorted shortly or in the space of the next few weeks, it's paramount that Kamara is pinned down on a long-term deal. 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. Though, the 28-year-old did make his first start in the Champions League on Tuesday night and impressed. River Plate and Valencia have both expressed their interest in Buendia, but he is said to have rebuffed their approaches.
There is huge interest in Jhon Duran, including from Paris Saint-Germain and Al-Nassr, but Villa are insistent that he is not for sale in this window. However, an eye-watering bid could tempt them to assess their options, with reports claiming Matheus Cunha could be considered in the final week of the window. Asked if he is frustrated with the amount of speculation around Duran's future despite him signing a long-term deal back in October, Emery said on Friday: "It is not only with Duran but other players as well.
When we are inside, I am focusing a lot on how we are thinking and planning each match and every player is focusing on it. Maybe some players can be in some rumours to leave from here or come here from other teams, but I think every team is in the same situation. "My focus and with the players we have is on the match against West Ham and being professional, mature, responsible and serious.
And then of course maybe in a few days some players can leave as well and some players can join from other teams. "But the group we have here now has to be professional and responsible and play, focusing on each match. Then, I don't know exactly until the last day of the transfer window how many players we can change in this squad - but on Sunday we are here with the players we have and 100 per cent focused on the match.
" Villa have also made a decision to loan Louie Barry out, but they want him to sign a new contract beforehand. "We are very happy with Barry," Emery explained. "We have one plan with him and that is to extend his contract because we believe in him and then he must continue his process as a player.
"It is to go on loan and continue getting minutes, getting confidence and getting his success playing at another club. How we worked with him last year and with him now is the right way for him." Elsewhere, goalkeeper Joe Gauci could leave on loan.
The Australian's future would rest on what happens with Robin Olsen, who is said to be of interest to Copenhagen. Villa are also due to complete the signing of promising Turkish defender Yasin Ozcan, who would then likely be sent back to Kasimpasa on loan, while Tidiam Gomis is reportedly closing in on a move to RB Leipzig. Villa tried to hijack the deal late on, but it appears that their attempts are in vain as the winger prepares to join the Bundesliga side from Caen.
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