Unai Emery outlines Aston Villa transfer window difficulty

While he thinks Villa’s owners are willing to support his Champions League ambition,

Unai Emery has cautioned that it will be “very difficult” for the team to recruit a striker next month.

With the transfer window providing an opportunity to strengthen any weak areas in the squad for the second half of the season,

Villa will be right in the thick of the Premier League title fight come 2024.

The most evident of them is the veteran substitute for Ollie Watkins,

the team’s top scorer; Jhon Duran, a young player, is the only other centre forward currently on the roster.

However, Emery, who passed on the opportunity to acquire a new striker in January of last year after selling Danny Ings,

stated yesterday that he was content with the current dynamic up front and emphasised the challenge of acquiring a player to challenge Watkins,

who has started every league game in 2023.

“It’s very, very difficult to improve on these two strikers, given the circumstances we have,” he declared.

“The striker is who? Names, please. Ollie Watkins is playing good and becoming better,

so I’m attempting to make sense of the situation and figure out how we can get better.

“With Ollie, we have another young player who is excellent for management because he is improving steadily,

can play without Watkins, and can play with him.

“It’s very difficult for us to add another player and manage the current situation.”

Since Emery took over as Villa’s head coach in November of last year,

Watkins has thrived and already has 14 goals this season across all competitions.

The boss went on, “His position was in jeopardy when I came here a year ago.

Many people were sceptical of Ollie Watkins.

“He was working nonstop and was highly demanding of himself;

he has finally dispelled any remaining reservations about him.

“We added one young player, Jhon Duran, but of course he needs time.

“We’re attempting to assist and encourage him.

I talk to him a lot because I understand how difficult it is to make Ollie Watkins better.

“We are attempting to manage the team, but given the current situation,

it is very challenging to recruit a single player who will help us.

During this transfer window, it is considerably harder.

“Last year, for instance, we had a lot of discussions in January,

but cutting back on the squad size was the most crucial thing we did.

We were successful with the players we had, and things are still the same now.”

Third-place Villa, who have yet to secure a victory in two games this season,

will take on Burnley on Saturday knowing that a victory would tie them with leaders Liverpool in terms of points.

Emery has consistently downplayed their chances of contending for the championship,

but he recently acknowledged that he was now considering the top four spots.

He also disclosed the delight of the club’s billionaire owners,

Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris, with the advancements achieved during his leadership. To talk about January plans,

Emery met with the two and Villa’s sports director, Monchi.

“They are always very involved with me, us, and Aston Villa,” he remarked.

They are constantly attempting to explain to us how we can link or add players for the upcoming month’s window.

“I want to stay in the top four spots in the table,” Emery went on.

I want to hold onto it because we might be able to finish in the top four or five if we are still there in matchdays thirty to thirty-two.

“I want to obtain that. If it’s not working out, perhaps in two months I’ll be able to tell you otherwise.

Get more related news on https://dailysportnews.co.uk