By the time Aston Villa were preparing for May’s Europa League final they were heavy favourites to beat Freiburg, their status as a minor European superpower undoubted following a second top-four finish in three seasons.
Lifting the trophy was simply confirmation that Aston Villa had arrived at the top of the game.
Villa supporters know better than to believe that. They know that Emery has built a castle on sand, and they know the dramatic sell-off of the club’s star players this summer could represent the beginning of the end, not just for Emery’s time at the club but Villa’s back at the top table.
The most extraordinary statistic of the 2025/26 campaign tells the whole story: six of the 11 starters against Freiburg played for Villa under Dean Smith, who was last in charge of Villa in 2021 and was succeeded by Steven Gerrard, who brought in a seventh of those finalists, Lucas Digne.
That is a testament to Emery’s world-class coaching, but it also reveals the deeper issues at Villa Park, where Emery yields unprecedented power akin to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. His transfer record, with a few notable exceptions including Morgan Rogers, has been poor. And above him, the board have struggled to grow the commercial side anything like as quickly as they had hoped.
There is a foreboding worry around Villa Park that when Emery goes Villa could hire another Gerrard and slip right back down the pecking order; that without Emery’s influence the magic will wear off and those players will reveal their true level again.
Nine of the 16 used in the final were fighting relegation for Villa under Smith or Gerrard. How insulated are Villa, really, from another battle at the bottom? Less than Tottenham Hotspur, you would think.
Then again, this summer could be one of the biggest in the club’s modern history; a chance to consolidate a position of power that could easily prove temporary, a chance to make the mirage a reality. Selling Rogers, Youri Tielemans, and Digne is not exactly the best start, but it has given Villa greater financial freedom than they have had for some time, and, more importantly, Emery looks to be getting his transfers right.
Joao Gomes is an exceptional midfielder who should more than replace the defensive clout Villa will miss while Amadou Onana is out with a lengthy injury. Johan Manzambi is one of the most sought-after young midfielders in Europe and is the kind of signing Villa ought to have been making for the past three years.
Alejandro Garnacho, a typical fixer-upper for Emery in the mould of Marcus Rashford or Jhon Duran, clearly has the potential to be an elite footballer and should not be judged on stints at Manchester United and Chelsea during the most basket-case periods of their respective histories.
Nevertheless, Villa haven’t replaced Rogers yet and probably cannot replace Tielemans, the beating heart of the team. There is now a big weakness at left-back unlikely to be corrected in this window, while surgery is needed up front and in goal, although it looks as though Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Martinez will limp on for a final year.
It leaves the impression of a long, painful goodbye on the horizon: a slow death of this iteration of Villa as Emery tries to build a new team via transfers (something he has never done before) despite having completed his mission by lifting silverware in May.
This is a watershed moment for the club. Either Emery gets it right, Villa kick on, and more success is to follow, or the iconic Villa team that won the Europa League will continue to be dismantled and the club will drift back towards the level it plateaued at under Gerrard.
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