Unai Emery has to be happy with how his Aston Villa side have performed so far in the 2023/24 campaign, a handful of results notwithstanding.
The Midlands-based outfit are the favourites to lift the Europa Conference League, and with seven games to go of their Premier League season they’re hanging onto the final Champions League spot.
As they’ve shown with a number of performances under the Spaniard, particularly at Villa Park, they’re a force to be reckoned with on their day.
However, they may find that Financial Fair Play comes back to bite them.
Aston Villa could sell Ezri Konsa to Man United
As with many other clubs at present, the need to sell before buying is prevalent, and Football Transfers speculate that it could mean highly-rated Ezri Konsa will need to be sacrificed this summer.
Man United are waiting in the wings as potential suitors, and it’s easy to understand why.
Erik ten Hag’s side lost Jonny Evans and Raphael Varane to injury during the match against Chelsea on Thursday night, and they’re added to a list of defenders that are at various stages of their own recovery.
Lisandro Martínez, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are all still sidelined too, which doesn’t bode well for their next game against Liverpool.
In any event, Konsa would represent a sound investment from the Red Devils were he minded to move on, and were Villa prepared to cash in on one of their most reliable players.
The 26-year-old apparently only signed a new five-year deal back in September, evidencing Villa’s desire to retain his services, though FFP is crippling clubs and if Villa fall foul too, they could be left with little choice.
For now, full concentration will remain on finishing as high as possible in the English top-flight and hopefully winning silverware in Europe which would guarantee them a spot in next season’s Europa League.
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