Former Aston Villa star Paul Merson has insisted Unai Emery "won't be hanging around for long" if the club continue to offload their top players. Villa have seen the bulk of the team that won the Europa League final in May leave the club this summer.
Already Ezri Konsa, Lucas Digne, Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers have been sold. Emi Martinez and Ollie Watkins are poised to follow them out of the door, leaving the squad significantly weakened.
Transfer strategy under scrutiny
Emery was able to secure fourth place in the Premier League as well as enjoying another European triumph last term, but Villa have been unable to build on that, instead selling household names. They have spent a record fee on Johan Manzambi, but their team looks a shadow of what it did last year.
That told as Villa were hammered 4-0 at Brighton in their Premier League opener. The Seagulls were four goals up inside 31 minutes, with Emery seeing Joao Gomes, another of his summer signings, sent off before half-time.
Merson's warning
Merson maintains that if the club's attitude to recruitment and retention continues, their hopes of hanging onto Emery would look slim. He told Sky Sports: "I don't expect them to go down, of course not. But I don't expect them to finish in the top half even with a top manager like Emery. If Emery's not fed up with this situation, then he's some person. This situation is very rare. We saw Spurs win a European cup and finish 17th. He won the same European cup and finished fourth.
"There's obviously nothing out there to suggest he could go right now. But I don't see Emery hanging around for long if things continue like this. We're talking about one of the top managers in the game, and everyone seems to be leaving him left, right and centre."
Madness at the highest level
Emery has been in charge at Villa Park since late 2022 and presided over some of the best results and Premier League finishes the club have enjoyed, all whilst working with a budget far smaller than their rivals. "It's madness at the highest level," added Merson. "We're talking about a big, big football club that just got in the Champions League, won a European trophy - and then sold all their best players."
Villa's next assignment sees them host Arsenal on Monday, where Konsa could make his Gunners' debut against his former club. Emery's side are back in the Champions League, meaning they will battle on four fronts with major question marks over the quality and depth of their squad.
