Unai Emery has expressed confidence that Aston Villa can absorb a summer of significant player departures as they prepare to face Paris Saint-Germain in the Uefa Super Cup on Wednesday. Speaking at the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg, the Villa manager appeared relaxed and jovial, cracking jokes about his improving English and playfully impersonating captain John McGinn during a press conference.
Emery's Confidence Amid Changes
Emery addressed the wave of questions about the club's transformation, noting that change has been constant since McGinn's arrival in 2018 when the club was in the Championship. "You ask about the changes of coaches and players, but McGinn is intelligent and his answer was fantastic," he said with a smile. "If we compare ourselves to other clubs like Man City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool, we are competing with them. We don't have their power … yet."
Villa have sold Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, and Lucas Digne, with Digne returning to PSG and potentially making his second debut against his former club. The club could face further tests if Arsenal make a serious move for Ezri Konsa, who, along with Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Martínez, remains on holiday after World Cup duty. Three key coaching staff have also left, including set-piece coach Austin MacPhee.
McGinn's Response to Expectations
McGinn was punchy when asked about expectations for the upcoming campaign. "Similar to where it has been in the past few seasons," he said. "I think we have consistently competed with the best in England, the best in Europe, no matter what the competition is. We will have our challenges. There is a lot of change, but when you look at other clubs around England there is a lot of change there as well: a lot of coaches changing, a lot of players changing."
"But what we still have is our main core, same manager, same methods, same desire to achieve more. A lot of people thought we had reached our ceiling a couple of seasons ago, and we proved them wrong. We have still got the same hunger and desire to go and achieve more. Our job is just to integrate the new players and try and make them believe, in the same way the players in the last few seasons have believed. I'm really excited by the sort of 'new Aston Villa'."
Financial and Brand Growth
Emery highlighted the club's progress off the pitch, noting the Premier League's global standing and Villa's growing brand. "The Premier League is the best league in the world and Aston Villa can now have better brands in the way we are," he said. "I am so, so, so happy how the club is committed together with us. [I am so happy] with how we are getting better, keeping our consistency in the Premier League … the club is making a huge effort to try to be in the same direction as me. They are trying to extend Villa Park to achieve 50,000 supporters next season. We are increasing our budget through good results on the pitch, by sometimes selling some players and being consistent like we are, and as well expecting a high level, like we are more or less keeping."
PSG, meanwhile, are described as a brand beyond football, with their megastore on London's Oxford Street and chief executive Victoriano Melero talking of competing with Real Madrid on the pitch and labels like the LA Lakers and Ferrari off it. Salzburg is the latest stop on Villa's quest, with 6,000 fans in attendance. The stadium facade is adorned with images of McGinn and teammates celebrating their Europa League win in Istanbul in May.
Emery, who spent two years in charge of PSG, concluded: "I am feeling comfortable, happy, very demanding, even more than the last years. We want more. We are not stopping here."
