Aston Villa News and Analysis

Transfer Rumors: An elite club wants to poach Jhon Duran from Aston Villa

8Nov

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Premier League

Transfer Rumors: An elite club wants to poach Jhon Duran from Aston Villa

Aston Villa backup striker Jhon Duran would be a qualified starter on the majority of Premier League sides, but with 2023/24 Premier League Player of the Season candidate Ollie Watkins still firing on all cylinders, the Colombian has to settle for being one of the world's finest backups. Duran was mired in a transfer saga this past summer, but Aston Villa ultimately stuck to their guns and didn't sell him to Premier League counterparts West Ham, Chelsea, or anyone else for that matter. This season, Duran is off to a torrid start as arguably the biggest breakout striker in world football, scoring 4 league goals in 263 minutes for a whopping 1.37 goals per 90 minutes. Aston Villa are very much in the thick of the Champions League race despite a poor recent run of results, including ...

Guess who could come crawling back to Aston Villa

7Nov

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Premier League

Guess who could come crawling back to Aston Villa

Aston Villa are experiencing a little bit of a slide, as the top-four contenders have not won a game since their Oct. 22 victory over Bologna in the Champions League. The Lions suffered a shock defeat to Club Bruges in their latest Champions League encounter, on the heels of a 4-1 drubbing to fellow top-four contenders Tottenham in the Premier League this weekend. Before that, Aston Villa lost to a struggling Crystal Palace 2-1, and they could not get the full three points against Bournemouth either, drawing the plucky underdogs 1-1. Unai Emery has done a marvelous job with Villa to this point, and they look even stronger this season with Morgan Rogers and Jhon Duran breaking out as legitimate top attackers while Youri Tielemans enjoys a career year thus far. Tielemans and fell...

The two underrated strikers Unai Emery has asked Ollie Watkins to model his game after

4Nov

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Premier League

The two underrated strikers Unai Emery has asked Ollie Watkins to model his game after

Aston Villa have one of the most enviable striker tandems in world football, as Jhon Duran has broken out as a lethal goal-scorer off the bench behind starter Ollie Watkins, who was a Premier League Player of the Season candidate in 2023/24. Duran has scored four goals in just about 250 Premier League minutes so far in the 2024/25 campaign, while Watkins is sitting at five goals in ten games with two assists for good measure. But it's fair for Unai Emery and Aston Villa to want even more from their 28-year-old star man, because he is at the peak of his athletic powers and can still develop his decision-making. Last season, Watkins scored 19 goals with 13 assists, and while he's at a similar pace so far in 2024/25, the name of the game for Emery is constant improvement. Emery has s...

Unai Emery reveals Aston Villa’s only significant injury before Tottenham match

2Nov

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Premier League

Unai Emery reveals Aston Villa’s only significant injury before Tottenham match

Aston Villa will face Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday in a battle between two well-coached sides hoping to qualify for the top four. The Lions already did so last season under Unai Emery, pipping Spurs for a second straight season in a European race. With how well they have continued this season after a strong summer that included signings like Amadou Onana, Aston Villa will be the favorites despite being on the road in London. For the most part, they are the healthier side, as Tottenham won't have Micky van de Ven available after his hamstring strain vs. Manchester City. However, Aston Villa will have one key player in the rotation out. Summer signing Ross Barkley won't be available, according to manager Unai Emery, who spoke to reporters before the match on Sunday. Eme...

Aston Villa are protecting their new breakout star from a future transfer

1Nov

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Premier League

Aston Villa are protecting their new breakout star from a future transfer

Aston Villa have become THE team to watch in the Premier League since Unai Emery took over, as the Spanish manager first took the Lions to the Conference League and then upgraded them further to the Champions League this season. Now, Emery and Aston Villa hope to stay as a top-four team in England, and with their start to the 2024/25 Premier League and Champions League seasons, there is every reason to believe that the project is here to stay. Aston Villa made a couple of big transfers this past summer to strengthen their squad further, with the most notable being top-class midfielder Amadou Onana from Everton. Their biggest new contributors, though, are breakout stars Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers. And while Duran has been getting the most attention for his prolific goal-scoring o...

Unai Emery works harder than your favorite team’s manager

1Nov

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Premier League

Unai Emery works harder than your favorite team’s manager

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has accomplished so much in a short time at the Premier League's fastest-rising club that you almost wonder why he hasn't been getting more "best manager in the world" shouts alongside the likes of Hansi Flick, Pep Guardiola, and Carlo Ancelotti. Obviously, Emery doesn't have the Champions League pedigree of those three managers and isn't flying as high as Flick at Barcelona this season, but his Lions are headed for another top four finish in the Premier League after their once improbable UCL qualification last season. Emery has taken Aston Villa from the middle of the pack to the elite in England, and the serial Europa League winner in Spanish football has become a much better league manager in his second stint in the Premiership. So much of Emery's...

UCL Power Rankings: Aston Villa, Barca rise; Real Madrid stand tall; Don’t sleep on Monaco

24Oct

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Champions League, Features

UCL Power Rankings: Aston Villa, Barca rise; Real Madrid stand tall; Don’t sleep on Monaco

8. Monaco Sure, it was only Red Star Belgrade and then they couldn't even beat Dinamo Zagreb before that, but, looking at the bigger picture, Monaco have all the ingredients of a Champions League sleeper. Ligue 1 has quietly become a lot more competitive this season with a legitimate battle at the top of the table fought among PSG, Monaco, and Marseille, and in league play at least, Monaco look like the most complete side. There are familiar names to diehard football fans like former Liverpool attacker Takumi Minamino, ex-Arsenal American striker Folarin Balogun, former Chelsea and Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria, or 2018 World Cup hero Aleksandr Golovin. However, the biggest gems for Monaco are the next generation of stars who have yet to make it big in the mainstream. Eliesse...

EPL Preview: Southampton’s X-Factor; Aston Villa’s biggest worry; Everton’s key to victory

24Oct

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features, Premier League

EPL Preview: Southampton’s X-Factor; Aston Villa’s biggest worry; Everton’s key to victory

Everton's biggest key to victory vs. Fulham There's usually not a whole lot of nice things to say about a team stuck 16th in the Premier League table, but Everton are more than three points above the drop zone and have one of my favorite wide men in the league in Dwight McNeil, who has a knack for scoring bangers. Everton aren't the favorites against Fulham this weekend, but you have to admit they have more than a fighting chance. Sean Dyche has had a tough task getting anything out of his team attacking-wise, and it feels like a few of their most talented players, such as former Serie A starters Beto and Jesper Lindstrom, haven't quite figured this whole "scoring in the Premier League" thing out. What Everton need to do in order to win this game is elementary. They need to get the ...

EPL Transfers: An underrated target for Man Utd, Tottenham, and Aston Villa

23Oct

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features, Premier League

EPL Transfers: An underrated target for Man Utd, Tottenham, and Aston Villa

Aston Villa: Mattia Viti, CB for Empoli While I do agree with the overarching sentiment that Aston Villa need to prioritize the right back position on the transfer market, I also don't think it would hurt to pursue a U23 talent at the center back position to back up the stalwart tandem of Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres. There are a number of talented young center backs in Ligue 1 worth monitoring closely during the 2024/25 season in preparation for this coming summer's transfer window, but I would also like to point out that Serie A has been a quality producer of central defensive talent for the Premier League in recent seasons. Tottenham have gone to that well successfully, and Aston Villa could do the same. Empoli's Mattia Viti is a 22-year-old center back who could figure nicely as a ...

EPL Transfers: Best fit for Tottenham, Aston Villa, and Newcastle’s biggest need in January

22Oct

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features, Premier League

EPL Transfers: Best fit for Tottenham, Aston Villa, and Newcastle’s biggest need in January

Let's take a look at the best possible signing to fill the biggest need for Aston Villa, Tottenham, and Newcastle as all three clubs vie for a coveted top-four position in the 2024/25 Premier League season. Newcastle: Right Winger Newcastle were supposed to sell Miguel Almiron to the Saudi Pro League this summer, which, theoretically, shouldn't have been a difficult task, given the Magpies are also owned by Saudi Arabia. Almiron would be a very useful veteran left-footed winger in the Saudi Pro League, but after a poor 2023/24 Premier League season, it's become clear that his 2022/23 campaign was an anomaly and that his level is far below the standard Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak have been setting in the Newcastle attack. If the Magpies want to get back to the Champions League...