Togetherness and coherence have formed the cornerstone of Unai Emery's successful tenure at Aston Villa. Ambition on the transfer market is fitting for a club that has gone from strength to strength and now awaits the certainty of that Champions League breeze, but a few months away.
But it is the intrinsic belief, woven into Villa's very fabric since Emery was appointed, that has been the basis of the qualification for the Conference League at the end of the 2022/23 season, the subsequent triumph that was a fourth-placed Premier League finish, achieved last term.
This is a club that, six years ago, had suffered the agony of defeat in the Championship play-off final, had suffered the agony of a nosedive into the second tier, and had indeed, despite its stature, failed to escape this imperilled position. Look at us now, the Lions cry.
Coherence. Cohesion. Commitment to the cause. These are values that Emery holds in high regard. And when a player decides to call it quits, arrested by the beckoning aroma of riches overseas, Emery does not hesitate to ship them on – even if they might be the outfit's record signing.
Why Moussa Diaby is leaving Aston Villa
Aston Villa want £60m to sanction Moussa Diaby's proposed transfer to Al-Ittihad, with director Laurent Blanc urging the winger to join countrymen Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante at the Saudi Pro League club.
It would be somewhat myopic not to allow Diaby to leave for £60m: here's why. Despite scoring ten goals and providing nine assists over 54 matches, the versatile winger was not spectacular in his maiden year in the Premier League, signed from Bayer Leverkusen for £52m last July.
1.
Ollie Watkins (0.79)
2.
Leon Bailey (0.74)
3.
Jhon Duran (0.61)
4.
Moussa Diaby (0.56)
5.
Douglas Luiz (0.41)
He featured in every top-flight fixture, netted shortly into his debut against Newcastle United, though just 25 of his 38 outings started from the opening whistle.
He left some to be desired. The £130k-per-week might have been invariably threatening but he failed to bring it all together, creative in possession but not sufficiently combative when out of it.
Indeed, across the campaign, he averaged 0.3 tackles, won 1.5 duels (at a success rate of 35%) and completed 1.6 ball recoveries on average, as per Sofascore.
There's no doubting Diaby's quality, and there's every chance that the 25-year-old kicks on and enters the ascendancy in his second term at Villa Park, but it's not going to happen.
£60m is no small sum, and given the financial issues of recent weeks, prudently propitiating PSR might pay dividends down the line. Especially with a shrewd replacement having already been lined up.
Who Emery could replace Diaby with
Aston Villa triumphed with a top-four Premier League finish last season but Emery and Co have hardly been resting on their laurels since that feat.
Should Diaby's sale go through as expected, the Midlands club can already take comfort in the fact that Samuel Iling-Junior, 20, has been signed from Juventus and Jaden Philogene is in the process of re-joining the club from Hull City following his magnificent campaign in the Championship.
But Diaby is a big figure and bringing in another attacking midfielder could pay off for the Villans – especially considering that the Frenchman actually played a lot of football in a central position, thrusting forwards into the danger area.
Attacking midfield
15
5
4
Centre-forward
14
4
1
Left winger
3
1
0
Right winger
10
0
1
As such, there might just be something in rumours that the Villa are interested in signing Napoli's Jesper Lindstrom this summer. The talented Dane struggled in tough conditions in Naples last season.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport – via Sport Witness – Villa are set to rival Everton for the attacking midfielder's signing this summer, with the Serie A side hoping to raise €30m (£25m) from his sale.
What Jesper Lindstrom could bring to Aston Villa
A well-rounded attacking midfielder, Lindstrom likes to play centrally but utilises his pace and ball-carrying confidence to drive up both flanks and make a positive impression on his team.
Described as an "outstanding footballer" with "very good technique" by former teammate Kevin Trapp, Lindstrom might have fallen by the wayside since joining Napoli one year ago but he cannot be blamed for the 2022/23 Serie A champions' staggering decline, only afforded three starts across all competitions last season.
Simply looking at his metrics from the previous campaign, with Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga, you can see the express quality when Lindstrom is at the top of his game.
The £50k-per-week averaged 1.6 key passes per game and created eight big chances for his teammates, keeping it crisp with an 84% pass completion rate.
Landing a player of similar playmaking ability – with a mean shot besides – could prove to be the perfect move to maintain the fluency that Emery holds so dear. After all, for a £25m outlay, Villa would be collecting a net positive and then some.
And moreover, while Lindstrom failed to impress at Napoli last year, he did get to shoe the combative side that could see him eclipse that of Diaby at Villa Park, unleashing a more complete and balanced skillset altogether.
As per FBref, he ranked among the top 5% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues last season for tackles and the top 10% for clearances per 90, highlighting that point.
Aston Villa must seriously consider accelerating their interest in the Denmark international, who has yet to tap into his lofty potential but has shown more than enough to confirm that the talent is within his grasp, latent, and that he could be an astute addition for an outfit that continues to raise its ceiling.
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