Aston Villa are at risk of losing more key players from their starting XI, leading to concerns about their long-term ambitions.
Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne have already completed moves away from Villa Park for a combined £m, and could soon be joined by more departures.
Ezri Konsa continues to be heavily linked with a move to Arsenal, while goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez’s future remains up in the air following his role at the World Cup.
Former Aston Villa scout Mick Brown warned Football Insider that Unai Emery is at risk of losing the “spine” of his team with major sales potentially leading to a crisis.
Speculation about Konsa’s future has ramped up in recent weeks, with Mikel Arteta aiming to bolster his defence, while Martinez remains a key target for Italian giants Juventus.
Emery is understood to be extremely reluctant to lose his star players and hopes to stop a summer exodus, with growing fears that exits could lead to a major drop off.
Will more players be allowed to leave Aston Villa?
Brown told Football Insider on 24 July that Emery is not happy at Aston Villa given the key sales they have already sanctioned, and is reluctant to lose any more players.
The deals for Tielemans and Digne came as surprises given release clauses in their contracts, while Villa felt the fee involved in Chelsea signing Rogers was too good to turn down.
However, should any more of Emery’s starting XI be tempted away from Villa Park, there will be serious concerns about the strengthen of his squad for the new season.
“The big problem Aston Villa have now is about whether the sales will stop there,” Brown told Football Insider.
“We’ve spoken about Tielemans, about Digne, about Morgan Rogers, and losing all three of those players is going to be a big blow to Aston Villa’s plans for the season.
“But there are other players in that squad who other clubs are looking at as well, espeically Ezri Konsa and Emiliano Martinez.
“So if you go through the Aston Villa team, they might be losing their goalkeeper, centre-back, they’ve already lost their left-back, their central midfielder, their attacking midfielder.
“We know they want to sign strikers and wingers because they’re already weak in those areas as well, so when you take five star players out of the team, it’s a huge blow.
“Aston Villa are in serious danger of losing the spine of their team, their most important players, and if that happens then don’t be surprised to see them drop like a stone.”
What is the latest on Ezri Konsa and Emiliano Martinez?
With Aston Villa now at risk of losing more key players, vultures are circling Villa Park, and clubs could now be prepared to swoop and lure big names away.
Konsa and Martinez are the next likely players to depart Emery’s side, having both been linked with big-money moves away from the club since the summer window opened.
Former Aston Villa scout Bryan King told Football Insider on 1 July that Martinez’s camp were pushing for him to leave Villa last summer, but he has now been urged to stay.
However, growing interest from clubs including Juventus and Inter Milan could tempt him to move on, despite the club’s desire to keep hold of him.
Villa’s stance is the same over Konsa’s future in that they want to keep hold of him despite the interest from elsewhere, but fear he might be lured away.
