TA: If you are not able to enter the Champions League, Aston Villado players may leave the team

May 8th, "TheAthletic" wrote an article about Aston Villa's situation this summer window.

It is reported that May has become an increasingly important month for Aston Villa. This month, Emery and his decision-making team, including Football Operations President Monkey, Recruitment Director Brian Davis and Aston Villa’s data team will present a list of player goals and positions they actively seek.

In these discussions, a clear consensus will emerge. The data for some candidates will be shown to Emery, and Aston Villa's head coach will share his views, which inevitably determines the team's framework and potential departures. At present, Aston Villa already has the rough outline of their expected summer transfer window. But in fact, club sources acknowledge that there are still many unknown factors, including long-time trio Emiliano Martinez, Watkins and Tyrone Mins, as well as the future of Rashford and Asensio on loan.

The most decisive unknown factor is whether Villa can qualify for the Champions League again. This will determine the size of the team. If the promotion fails, Aston Villa will further cut wage spending and reduce the number of players to avoid dissatisfaction with the lack of playing time, which will also affect the level of the signing players. The opportunity to work with Emery is very attractive to some players, but others prefer to join only the Champions League team.

Therefore, Villa's top leaders are still uncertain at the moment how much money they will have to go to for the transfer until the end of the Premier League. In order to comply with the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), the team must not lose more than £105 million in three years, players must be sold to cover the deficit caused by cost exceeding revenue. The transfer market is not expected to be as turbulent as last year in the weeks leading up to the PSR deadline on June 30. In the summer of 2024, a series of separate deals were made between the clubs to help deal with PSR, including player exchanges between Villa and Everton, Juventus and Chelsea.

Aston Villa has strong assets, which allows them to negotiate high transfer fees in the transfer market. Duran's transfer is an example this January. Aston Villa admits they can’t sell both Duran and Watkins, although the possibility of the latter leaving the team remains. Watkins has been an Arsenal fan since he was a child, and both sides have indeed discussed the possibility of him joining the North London team. Aston Villa is not entirely opposed to this.

Watkins was excluded from two key Champions League quarterfinals against Paris Saint-Germain before Rashford was injured, and the 29-year-old admitted to being very upset with the arrangement. Watkins, who is only one goal away from becoming Villa's top scorer in the Premier League, knocked on Emery's goal to ask why he was excluded from certain games. Watkins' future will be re-evaluated at the end of the season, when the player camp and club will be discussed.

Like Watkins, Martinez is also a key player in the success of Aston Villa under Emery's rule. Sources said that although formal negotiations have not begun, agents close to the Saudi Arabian League said Martinez, 32, is one of the potential signing targets. Regardless of Martinez's future, Aston Villa is looking for a successor for him, with 24-year-old Spaniard Joao Garcia being mentioned as a possible young replacement.