Aston Villa plans to sell Jacob Ramsey to Newcastle. They welcome to Villa Park for Premier League opener at lunchtime, but Unai Emery is still optimistic about a big season
Unai Emery has argued that Aston Villa is not a candidate for the top seven location this season, but he is excited by the challenge of upsetting people with large budgets.
The villa will launch a campaign against Newcastle at lunchtime, approaching the end of the transfer window, which was hampered by the need to meet financial fair play rules.
Homemade Jacob Ramsey is set to complete the £309 million switch to Toon, but Leon Bailey is no longer of any use today as he approaches the exit. Also, while the villa has not been under pressure to sanction further sales, it appears that there is little chance that the big money will arrive before the windows close on September 1st.
However, Emery is optimistic about the upcoming campaign, acknowledging that their ambition is to secure their place on the continental stage again next season – despite some rivals having far greater resources.
read more: Transfer News Live: Man Utd, Eze Twist, Isak to Isak to Liverpool’s latest, Arsenal’s latestread more: Nuno raises “concerns” in Nottingham Forest’s transfer.
“We’re starting to be more or less like when we arrived here. We’re not a top seven candidate for this reason,” he said. “Of course, they have the ability to build a strong team, but they are not on the same budget.
“We need to be competitive with our players and stay motivated, we have to continue working hard, but we are not candidates in the top seven.”
Villas will be willing to splash cash unless it is due to UEFA sustainability regulations. Last month, the governing body fined the team £9.5 million for violating the team’s cost ratio, and the penalty could rise significantly unless it complies over the next three seasons.
But Emery added: “I’m not annoyed – I’ll embrace the rules and how we compete and how ambitious we are to compete with better teams in the Premier League and Europe. I’m motivated and excited, not annoyed.
Emi Martinez is currently serving as one game suspension today. This means the debut of a new signature on Marco Bizot. However, after summer speculation around the future of the Argentine goalkeeper, it seemed to ease his fears of moving forward.
“I’m very, very happy with him,” he added. “There’s a chance I’ll leave in the transfer window, but if he’s staying here, at this point I’m very pleased with his commitment and professionalism. He’s the leader of the dressing room and he’s very good for us. He wants to fight for us.”
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