Matt Maher: Unai Emery's Champions League call has raised the stakes at Aston Villa
Unai Emery walked into Bodymoor Heath on Thursday morning knowing he was going to upset somebody.
A transfer window in which the boss admitted Villa had made more changes “than they wanted” had left him with a decision to make.
After signing five players, only three could be added to the club’s Champions League squad under Uefa rules, meaning two would miss out. One of the calls was far easier than the other.
Signed very much for his potential, 21-year-old Spanish right-back Andres Garcia is unlikely to see too much action when Emery has a full complement of players available. He was always favourite to be one of the two not picked for the Champions League.
The much bigger headache was which three of the more senior signings: Donyell Malen, Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi, to select.
In the end, it was Malen who found himself the odd man out, the news delivered to the Netherlands international in a one-on-one conversation Emery admitted was “not easy”.
For the manager, on many levels, it was a brave move.
Villa might point to unfortunate circumstances, or even question the logic of the Uefa rules. But the fact is the club knew those restrictions were in place.
Granted, the window might have become far busier than anticipated, yet it only became the case after the sale of Jhon Duran boosted the coffers, more than a fortnight after Malen had been signed from Borussia Dortmund, the team with whom he reached last year’s Champions League, while being told he had a big role to play for Villa in this year’s competition.
Emery’s current shortage of defenders meant he had no option but to include Axel Disasi, the deadline day centre-back signing from Chelsea.
Picking two loanees over your one permanent signing of the window in attack, however, is a rather different matter.
It is bold, if not even a little brutal, adding further to the need for both Asensio and Rashford to grasp the chance Emery has offered and revitalise their careers.
After a window which smacked of the manager’s desire to win now, the onus was always on he and his players to deliver. With this decision, it feels like Emery has raised the stakes just that little bit further.
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