Aston Villa sign £11m gem and Flamengo winger in surprise new January transfer window prediction
Unai Emery needs improvements for his Aston Villa squad in the January transfer window
Aston Villa’s stunning resurgence in form since October may have given the illusion that the impervious Unai Emery is back on track at Villa Park, but it will only prove to be a stay of execution unless they can finally make a splash in the transfer market in 2026.
Emery presides over the second-oldest squad in the Premier League behind only Fulham, who somehow had an even more frustrating window than Aston Villa, as out of their top nine-highest appearance makers this season only Morgan Rogers is yet to celebrate his 25th birthday. Goalkeepers and midfielders can shine well into their mid-30s but Emi Martinez and John McGinn will start declining at some point this decade, so The Villans must start thinking about replacement plans.
B6 also houses the smallest squad in the Premier League at 23 players so while Matty Cash and Ezri Konsa should still have some years left at their peak, if they get injured the cupboard is pretty bare behind them so some youthful depth would be useful. Meanwhile January will be the first window that transfers are overseen by Monchi’s replacement Roberto Olabe, who has a lot to live up to as president of football operations.
So with that in mind, Villa fans should be and are expectant that 2026 will finally be the year their club loses their net profit in Unai Emery’s reign and we fired up Football Manager 26 to see what they could look forward to. However, according to FM26 they could well be disappointed…
Frugal window predicted for Emery
Gonzalo Plata - £11 million from Flamengo - The former Sporting CP winger may have the potential to be successful in the Premier League, but he’s not really shown it so far. After spells in Ecuador, Portugal and Qatar he’s now in Rio de Janeiro and boasts an unspectacular goals record of seven goals and 10 assists in 68 games. While he could still develop, aged 25 and with over 200 senior appearances under his belt there’s nothing to suggest he’ll turn into a star.
Guille Rosas - loan from Sporting Gijon - The full-back has been a La Liga2 stalwart in recent years, and though defensively solid, he’s capable of popping up with important contributions at the other end of the pitch too.
Houssem Aouar - £3.6m from Al-Ittihad - The 27-year-old was capped by France and appeared on course for a successful career at major European club having starred for Lyon and Roma, before throwing it away to cash a big check from the Saudi Public Investment Fund. It’d be a surprise if he could contribute for Emery.
Josha Vagnoman - £3.6m from VfB Stuttgart - Another player who could provide right-back cover and is younger than Cash, it would be pretty redundant to sign Vagnoman and Rosas in the same window but he could be a bargain at that price.
Lewis Koumas - £11m from Liverpool - Son of Jason Koumas, Lewis scored on debut for The Reds, against Southampton in the FA Cup but he’s only notched six more goals and three assists in the last two seasons on loan in the Championship. He may go on to record as many top-flight appearances as his father, but Koumas would be unlikely to make an instant impact at Villa Park.
Barkley the only major exit for Villa
Ross Barkley - £5.25m to Brighton & Hove Albion - While The Seagulls are renowned for turning right-backs from the Bolivian fourth tier into billion-pound sales to Chelsea, they’ve also found success signing cheap former England stars like Danny Welbeck, James Milner and Adam Lallana and Barkley fits that bracket well. Also in this prediction Aidan Borland is loaned to Doncaster Rovers, Joe Gauci to Wrexham and both Kadan Young and Yeimar Mosquera to Bradford City.