Football is cyclical. Great teams rise, and then they fall. However, Aston Villa appear to have reached a concerning crossroads at a premature point in their project.
At the end of the 2024/25 season, Unai Emery watched in agony as his side put in a meek performance at Old Trafford. It was the final match of the Premier League campaign, and a single point would have been enough to reprise a place in the Champions League. Villa were beaten, and contentiously at that.
Four games into the new league season, the Lions have yet to roar, blanking across each of their matches and losing twice. It’s hardly time to panic, but fears of a regressive year have been heightened by this slow start, and Emery knows he needs to bring it all together.
Only, Villa were inhibited across the summer transfer window, a by-product of that frustrating defeat in Manchester. It was for this reason that Jacob Ramsey was forcibly sold to Newcastle United, and only Evann Guessand was brought in.
Villa, still, have Ollie Watkins leading the line.
Ollie Watkins is still Villa's talisman
Watkins has been at this game for a while, having played 228 matches across all competitions for Aston Villa, scoring 87 goals and supplying 42 assists.
He’s been synonymous with the club’s advancements over recent years, and offers at number nine a varied and deep take on the craft.
Watkins is one of the finest Premier League forwards of his generation. Behind a select few superstars, it is the Three Lions star who produces clinical performances as such that has led statistician Statman Dave to describe him as “one of the best 9s in the world”.
Erling Haaland
100
88 (0.88)
Mohamed Salah
111
67 (0.60)
Alexander Isak
86
54 (0.63)
Ollie Watkins
115
50 (0.43)
Chris Wood
95
39 (0.41)
Bryan Mbeumo
101
39 (0.39)
However, he’s 29 years old (hardly ancient), and reflective of the ageing nature of Emery’s first-team squad. Given the trammels imposed on Villa Park in the summer transfer market indeed led to only the permanent signing of Guessand, there’s no question the young and inspiring signings will need to be made in the window ahead.
Villa’s isn’t a team solely comprised of veterans, though, with one of the Premier League’s brightest young stars in the ranks, and though he’s not a striker, Morgan Rogers has the capacity to replace Watkins as Villa Park’s talisman.
Emery has struck gold on Morgan Rogers
Rogers, 23, signed for Aston Villa from Middlesbrough in January 2024, joining for a £15m fee. What a bargain. He played a part across the latter end of the 2023/24 season, but came alive after a full pre-season, notching 29 goal involvements across all competitions as Villa battled across domestic and Champions League fronts.
As remarked by Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher to be “unstoppable” when he gets going on the ball, Rogers’ athleticism and pace enable him to shift between wide and central attacking berths, and the division is taking note.
Indeed, Rogers was crowned the PFA Young Player of the Year for the 2024/25 season, and he is definitely beginning to establish himself as the Midlands club’s best signing since Watkins was welcomed from Brentford for £28m in September 2020.
He sits among esteemed company.
24/25
Aston Villa
Morgan Rogers
23/24
Chelsea
Cole Palmer
22/23
Arsenal
Bukayo Saka
21/22
Man City
Phil Foden (2)
20/21
Man City
Phil Foden
Watkins has been the man his teammates turn to for quite some time, but that started to shift last term, with Rogers proving a focal point from deep but also a combative and tenacious force with talents across different phases of play.
Sofascore recorded, for example, that he created 16 big chances in the Premier League last year and averaged 1.8 dribbles and 4.7 successful duels per game, with his heatmap showcasing his energy, covering so much ground.
Now a fully-blooded England international too, the £75k-per-week talent might not have clicked into gear across the opening weeks of the current campaign, but when Emery’s system does start purring once more – and it will – then Rogers will surely form the nucleus of the next phase.
Villa must be delighted that they managed to avoid parting with their young prize this summer, despite financial concerns and a tidal wave of interest.
Indeed, Tottenham Hotspur had taken a particular liking to the dynamic midfielder, enquiring about his availability and not appearing dissuaded by Aston Villa’s £80m valuation.
The truth is, Emery and his leadership coterie might share an opinion that Rogers is unsellable, his price tag something that would stretch into record territory, should they need to cash in.
But the fierce resistance to piqued curiosity from divisional rivals this summer emphasises the pedestal on which Emery has placed him.
Already accomplished in the Champions League, Rogers has the world at his feet, and must surely fancy his chances of rivalling the very best in the business in the years to come. Not just in the Premier League, but across the globe.
Rogers has not yet developed into the player those coaches who watch him every day feel he can become. Here is the biggest testament to the one-time Manchester City academy member’s growth, and indeed Emery’s ability to bring him to the fore.
It’s easy to forget that Rogers has only just begun his second season consistently playing at top-flight level. So much more is still to come, and Aston Villa will fight tooth and nail against anyone who wishes to prise him away. Here we have the new talisman, ready to guide his side toward a sustained period of success.