Unai Emery 'worried' and 'excited' by challenge of rebuilding Aston Villa | OneFootball

Unai Emery struck an upbeat note as he opened the Premier League campaign, describing the rebuild at Aston Villa as exciting while admitting he remains worried by the scale of change before Sunday’s trip to Brighton.

According to ExpressAndStar.com, the head coach could see more than half of last season’s starters depart by the window’s close. He has already lost key figures such as Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne, Morgan Rogers and Ezri Konsa, with Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez also potentially on the move, an interest in this window he did not anticipate.

Emery said being worried is nothing new, recalling his arrival three and a half years ago, the first game at home to Manchester United, early winless runs and transfer periods that did not unfold as planned. Villa failed to win any of last season’s first six matches, and he now wants to accelerate the squad’s development.

Villa have signed six players so far. Injuries mean Joao Gomes and Brian Madjo are out for the opening weeks, while Johan Manzambi is working back from a knee injury. Alejandro Garnacho, Matteo Ruggeri, Zion Suzuki and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who joined on loan from West Ham on Friday, could debut at Brighton, although preparation feels incomplete.

He accepts uncertainty and expects more changes before the September deadline, yet says Villa still target top positions and European football. He views the churn as both the price of success and evidence of improvement, and insists he believes in the group he has.

Source: ExpressAndStar.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”