Aston Villa have begun their new era under Unai Emery in solid fashion, with the Spaniard leading his new side to victories over Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion before the World Cup break halted momentum.
Nevertheless, it’s a positive start and Emery will be aiming to add a few new faces to his squad during the January transfer market in order to assert his own stamp on the team.
The club have been linked with a move for Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Djibril Sow recently, and a move for the 25-year-old – who is likely to cost around £26m – will give Emery the licence to ditch Morgan Sanson.
Emery can ditch Sanson
The Frenchman arrived at Villa in January 2021 from Marseille for a £14m transfer fee, however, he hasn’t come close to justifying the large outlay during his time at the club.
The £45k-per-week midfielder has made just 21 appearances across all competitions for the club and has played a grand total of one minute of football so far this season, proving that his time at Villa is surely coming to an end.
Emery can replace him by signing Sow, who featured for Switzerland at the World Cup in Qatar as they bowed out in the last 16 with a defeat to Portugal.
The midfielder played in all four matches, averaging a solid if unspectacular Sofascore rating of 6.63, while providing one assist, making 0.8 key passes, and winning 56% of his total duels, proving that he can be effective at both ends of the pitch.
The £34k-per-week gem has netted twice in 15 Bundesliga appearances this season, while across Europe’s big five leagues, Sow ranks in the top 12% for interceptions made, clearly demonstrating his ball-winning abilities to excellent effect.
He was described as “combative” by reporter Sam Smith and this type of personality is exactly what Emery needs in the heart of his Villa midfield.
Despite the encouraging start from the former Villarreal manager, the club remains in a precarious position. By signing players of quality such as Sow, however, the 51-year-old might just begin to build a team that is capable of staking a claim for the European spots next season.