Why Aston Villa are desperate to sign their biggest star since Grealish

You could peer over either side of the fence that is Aston Villa‘s transfer window and reach a wholly different conclusion regarding how this summer has panned out for the Europa League champions.

Aston Villa have been stripped of all their superstar power, torn away like peeling wallpaper, but they have also recruited shrewdly, restocking with arrivals who all have the potential to become popular figures at the next phase of the Unai Emery era.

There is a lot of work to be done. The four-goal thrashing at Brighton last weekend said something about that.

Why Aston Villa need a new superstar

Morgan Rogers has been sold to Chelsea in a £116m deal. Ollie Watkins will soon finalise his transfer to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League. Emi Martinez, finally, has left Villa Park, and Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa have all taken flight too.

Quite the restructure, and it might be that Aston Villa have to temper their expectations in the short term. However, the Midlands side still have a talented group, merely lacking a superstar.

In Alejandro Garnacho, Johan Manzambi and, imminently, Nicolas Jackson, Emery has provided the club with exciting new stars, but none have yet cemented themselves as talismanic figures at the height of Europe. Jackson ebbed and flowed at Chelsea, and on loan with Bayern Munich last season, played a bit-part role.

Watkins spearheaded Aston Villa into Champions League qualification – twice. He also led the line as Emery lifted the Europa League. Rogers, 23, is a sensation, “one of the world’s best“, in the view of pundit Jamie Redknapp. He continues to get better.

John McGinn is a leader, but the Villa lack someone like the aforementioned, even someone like former hero Jack Grealish, who achieved iconic status after guiding his boyhood club out of the Championship and into a stable Premier League setting. He had magic running through his laces, and earned a £100m move to Manchester City in 2021.

There has been talk of a loan deal to bring the 30-year-old back home this summer, but even after his resurgent effort with Everton last year, there might be a better option out there for Emery and his side.

How Aston Villa can sign their new Grealish

Aston Villa are not riding the crest of a wave anymore, but if Emery manages to sign a new attacker with the aura of someone like Grealish, it might have the binding effect needed to wrap all these new parts together into something cohesive.

Would Grealish have the right effect, welcomed back before next week’s deadline? Or should NSWE turn toward someone who can make a more emphatic and long-lasting impact?

As per journalist John Townley, Aston Villa have been assessing “in the last few hours” whether to firm up their interest in Rafael Leao, with the player said to have a preference for moving to Villa Park.

The 27-year-old wants to join the Premier League side, in spite of Galatasaray offering a bigger financial package. Emery has made a number of phone calls with the player to convince him to make the move.

Hailed as “one of the best left wingers in the world” by Como scout Ben Mattinson, Leao has spent a considerable amount of time cementing himself as Milano’s main man, scoring 80 goals and supplying 65 assists since arriving in 2019.

The Portugal international is undoubtedly “world-class”, also noted by Mattinson, but a change of scenery is what he needs, and a move to Villa Park to jockey with the likes of Garnacho and Jackson – for he can play on the left or as a centre-forward, as was the case for most of the 2025/26 season – could be the making of him, potentially rocketing him up to the kind of superstar status that Grealish once assumed at the outfit.

Leao is unpredictable, dynamic and multi-functional. He is the real deal, boasting the fleet-footed flair of the Three Lions playmaker, but also an incisive edge that Emery could harness to establish a new focal point now that Rogers and, soon, Watkins have flown the nest.

Whether Leao chooses Villa over Galatasaray remains to be seen. But if he does, it will have been a decision made with a slight loss in salary in mind. In that, Leao would be perfect for this project, hungry to win titles and spearhead the next phase of this remarkable Emery era.