First the positive news. The last time Aston Villa were hammered on the opening day of a Premier League campaign, a 5-1 defeat to Newcastle three years ago saw them finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League.
And that’s about as good as it gets, unfortunately. Boss Unai Emery to cast doubt on whether the star will emerge Ollie Watkins was willing to play in this game, under the interest of Al-Hilal.
It’s far too early in the season to draw any strong conclusions, but between now and now transfer window Villa close on September 1 and should be as impressive off the pitch as they have been on it in almost four years under Unai Emery.
There is softening. UEFA rules appear aimed at favoring clubs that can generate huge revenues off the pitch, while curtailing the ambitions of those – like Villa – who cannot. That’s why they had to sell £250 million worth of talent this summer.
Yet that excuse can only carry so much weight. Villa have lost important players, but that is also true Brighton.
Fabian Hurzeler’s side have looked at Jan Paul van Hecke and Danny Welbeck leave, while James Milner is retired. It is expected that Carlos Baleba, who did not play here, will join Manchester United while Yankuba Minteh was also absent, with the winger being chased Liverpool.
Unai Emery has plenty to think about after Aston Villa were beaten 4-0 at Brighton on Sunday
Based on the evidence from this fixture, Albion seems to be handling it quite well. Georginio Rutter looks at Champions League level and Yasin Ayari and Maxim De Cuyper were not far behind.
In contrast, the signs looked worrying for Villa from the moment Unai Emery gave his pre-match interview.
Emery’s irritable manner
When Sky Sports’ veteran reporter Johnny Phillips asked Emery about Ollie Watkins’ absence, the Spaniard looked furious and said nothing for two seconds. He simply stared into space before saying, “Silence.”
We’ve been here before with Emery. A year ago, when Emi Martinez was looking for a move, the Villa boss simply repeated the name of Martinez’s deputy ‘Marco Bizot’ when asked about the Argentine. On that occasion, Villa lost 3-0 to Crystal Palace at home.
As the teams walked out here at half-time, Emery seemed particularly annoyed with the Brighton coaching staff. He looked like a man on the edge and walked straight down the tunnel at full time without approaching Hurzeler to shake hands.
Emery is rarely at his best when the transfer window is open because he is distracted by the uncertainty. But things have changed even in the 11 days since Villa were beaten 2-1 by Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup.
Before and after the Salzburg match, Emery seemed relaxed and happy and even cracked a joke – almost unheard of for this ultra-professional, super-serious man.
There was not much to laugh about here, as Brighton roared into a 4-0 lead within 31 minutes and Gomes saw red on his Premier League debut after a ridiculous kick on Rutter.
Villa had actually started quite well, but when Ian Maatsen, Pau Torres and Marco Bizot chaotically combined to provide Maxim De Cuyper with a shot on target in the eighth minute, it was one-way traffic.
De Cuyper hit the post, but it bounced off Victor Lindelof. Ten minutes later, De Cuyper tapped in after Villa had been cut open on the right. Jack Hinshelwood then scored twice in a minute, the second after a terrible mistake from Gomes.
What about Watkins?
Al-Hilal’s interest in Watkins appears to have flipped a switch in Emery. He knew that Morgan Rogers, who joined Chelsea for £117 million, would almost certainly leave this summer, along with Lucas Digne, now at PSG.
Youri Tielemans’ move to Manchester United was a surprise, but Emery has had time to make peace with it. This also applied to the transfer from Konsa to Arsenal, which had been planned for several weeks. After all, Emery knew Villa would have to sell this summer to avoid a rap from UEFA.
Yet it feels different with Watkins. It didn’t help that neither of Villa’s other strikers, Tammy Abraham and Brian Madjo, were available due to injury. Daily Mail Sport understands Watkins has not trained this week, although he is believed to be neither ill nor injured. His representatives have been contacted for comment.
So where do we stand with Watkins? Despite insisting a deal is still some way off, Villa will sell Watkins if they can secure a replacement of similar quality and Al-Hilal are reasonably confident they can land their man. Emery likes Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson and there have been discreet talks, but the deal is complicated.
If two clubs exchange players in a period of less than 45 days, UEFA considers this a ‘swap’. Rogers signed for Chelsea 41 days before September 1. If UEFA were to declare it a swap, neither club would be able to credit their accounts with the full profits. That would make it harder for them to meet UEFA’s spending rules next season.
Maybe the clubs think they can talk their way through it, but that wouldn’t be easy. Just like the coming weeks for Villa.
It looks like Ollie Watkins will leave Villa ahead of the transfer window to join Saudi side Al-Hilal
Lack of leadership and power
When Gomes was shown an early yellow card and committed a few more silly fouls, Emery signaled the Brazilian to calm down. His teammates should have done this too. Martinez isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m sure he would have said a word. This also applies to Konsa, who was promoted to vice-captain last season.
Just before Gomes’ wild attack on Rutter, he had hit the turf in anger after giving the ball away for Brighton’s fourth goal. He was clearly ticking and maybe Emery could have gotten him out of there at times. Failing that, it took an experienced professional like skipper McGinn, Matty Cash or Lindelof to lower Gomes’ temperature. It never happened.
Gomes wasn’t the only problem. Ian Maatsen is an excellent attacking full-back, but he can be weak defensively. Brighton saw this and quickly sent long diagonal balls to Diego Gomez, who almost won them all and outwitted Maatsen to set up the third for Hinshelwood.
Without Konsa there is an alarming lack of pace in central defense and this needs to be addressed this week. Rutter made minced meat of Lindelof and Pau Torres here.
Southampton centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis is one target, Club Brugge’s Joel Ordonez another. Will either be good enough to replace Konsa right away? It seems unlikely.
If they can get the deal done, former Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka looks like a smart free transfer. Either way, these are important times for transfer chief Roberto Olabe.
Joao Gomes’ red card on the south coast summed up a thoroughly miserable afternoon for Villa
Press Olabe
This is Olabe’s second transfer window, but this time he was at the center of the negotiations, much more so than last January.
Even as his depleted side suffered a blow, Emery only made a substitution in the 75th minute, which seemed a classic message for those in control of the finances.
They need reinforcements for Matty Cash at right back, more options in midfield, at least one more wide man and a striker. Oh, and they need to find a solution for the future of Martinez, who is keen to move but has yet to reach Villa’s valuation. Next step on the field? Arsenal at home on August 31.
