This time next week, the summer transfer window will slam shut, and Aston Villa will look markedly different from the team whose talent and tenacity delivered a Europa League title and passage into the Champions League.
Last year’s fourth-place Premier League finish feels a lifetime ago, and a four-goal thumping by the hand of Brighton on the opening day of the new campaign will have confirmed to Unai Emery that he has his work cut out in lifting the squad back up to former heights.
Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne, Ezri Konsa. All gone. Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Martinez are expected to depart too. Aston Villa have welcomed a variety of fresh faces to the Midlands, but more is needed, though the pursuit of AC Milan’s Rafael Leao as a new leading forward appears to have hit a large roadblock.
Why Emery wants to sign Rafael Leao
In many ways, Leao defied description. He is fast and potent and unpredictable, but also frustrating in his repetitiveness, making the same mistakes and drifting away from the brilliance that is within his grasp every time he takes to the field.
He has been described as “one of the best players in the world” by teammate Luka Modric, a man who knows a thing or two about elite standards. Emery also knows how to sustain a high level, and a move to Villa could be the making of him, helping the 26-year-old realise depths to his game he is currently unaware of.
Leao is a flash of lightning on the ball, capable of working past defenders and into space. There he shoots on goal or creates some magic for a teammate. They expect that of him. The layers to his game make him a force to be reckoned with, and it’s understandable that Villa should want him so badly, with Rogers now playing for Chelsea and another focal point in Watkins soon to leave for Saudi Arabia.
But there is work to be done, should they hope to close a deal in the coming days. Galatasaray have seen a 45m (£39m) bid accepted for the Portugal international. Villa would prefer a loan. However, Emery has been leading direct contacts to convince Leao that Villa Park is the place for him.
Leao is a talented forward, but he’s not perfect. For I Rossoneri, he has been one of their most important modern players, crucial throughout the good times and bad.
It does seem like NSWE are hesitant about paying £39m for him, though, and with that in mind, it might be time to pivot, with an even more exciting signing in the pipeline.
How Aston Villa could complete more exciting signing than Leao
Leao is a special player, but his isn’t the only profile that Aston Villa need to reorient their attack. The Portugal star is direct and deadly in front of goal, but Emery could do with a selfless playmaker to help thread all the parts together.
Step up, Jack Grealish. Remember him? According to Fabrizio Romano, Aston Villa have made contact with the camp of the 30-year-old, who left Villa Park for Manchester City in a £100m deal five years ago.
The Manchester City playmaker spent last season on loan with Everton, who are pushing to bring him back to Merseyside. Sunderland are also keen, but Emery will hope that the allure of a return to his boyhood club will be enough to tempt Grealish to head back home and rebuild this Villan side.
Grealish was once the very essence of Aston Villa. He took his club back into the Premier League and cemented them there, producing scintillating results and earning the attention of Man City, who were always going to be irresistible when arriving waving cheques worth nine-figure fees.
Leao packs a punch, but Grealish showed at Everton last season that he can rip the Premier League to shreds when on his A-game, when in an environment that allows him to spread his wings.
Crowned the first Player of the Month in the division last season, he posted two goals and six assists across 20 outings before injury struck him down, creating two chances and winning 5.3 duels on average each game.
He was resurgent at Everton. He won the full gamut with Man City, in Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning juggernaut. But Grealish was at his ethereal best when pulling the strings for his boyhood club, and if Emery can recapture that quality, there’s no question that he would prove a more exciting addition than Leao.
In an ideal world, the Villa would sign both. But Emery and the wider persuasion have learned this summer that this is anything but a perfect world, with so many setbacks leaving last year’s titalists in tatters.
In Garnacho and Jackson, Aston Villa will be landing themselves ‘Chelsea rejects’ who have shown before that they have the quality to do it in the Premier League.
But in Grealish, an icon would be returning home. Moreover, his unique skillset would allow Emery to add a creative dimension to his outfit at a transitional point in the club’s history.
