Aston Villa's past transfer mistakes were a warning for Unai Emery

Aston Villa's past transfer mistakes were a warning for Unai Emery

Aston Villa's strategy of replacing Cliff Grealish two years ago should serve as a warning: money alone doesn't guarantee an improvement in your team.

Villa bought Emiliano Buendia, Danny Ings and Leon Pele for £100 million from Manchester City.

Just 18 months later, Ince was sold to West Ham United, while Bailey was sold this summer. Of the trio signed by Dean Smith, only Buendia has had some success.

Unless you have unlimited wealth to back up a rock-solid plan, the modern transfer market is extremely difficult to control, even if the club has billionaire owners. That's why supporters should be heartened that Villa seem to have put aside their early excitement in the transfer window in favour of a sensible, realistic approach.

Yuri Tielemans joined as a free agent after Leicester City's contract expired, while Paul Torres, one of Europe's most coveted centre-backs not long ago, is also poised to join from Villarreal this week for £31m.

Tielemans is a proven Premier League player, while Torres is part of Villarreal and reached the Champions League semi-finals two years ago under current Villa boss Unai Emery.

This is to like it more. There was no need to waste time signing Marco Asensio, who left Real Madrid with nothing but always felt like a foolish target.

Would a 27-year-old with three Champions League medals really join Villa? If he does, his salary will make his new teammates knock on the manager's door quickly, and there is no way to damage team spirit more than paying a new signing much higher than most players on the team.

Philippe Coutinho's disastrous deal should teach Villa a valuable lesson, and an Asensio move to Paris Saint-Germain could be better.

With Monchi poached from Sevilla to lead the recruitment effort, and Emery in the dugout, Villa have always looked to La Liga to improve their squad. This is expected to continue.

They desperately need a wide player and Leicester City's Harvey Barnes appears to be on the verge of joining Newcastle United, who is also on the list but not at the top of the list.

So did Nottingham Woods star Brennan Johnson, while Villa is believed to have asked Bayer Leverkusen about Moussa Diaby last weekend. Emery is a big fan of Nico Williams, but the Bilbao Athletic flyer seems more likely to stay put.

Villa also want a striker who can be both Ollie Watkins' partner and replacement for Ollie Watkins, and Diaby's virtue lies in his versatility, although the Frenchman's worth of a whopping £50 million would break Villa's transfer record. Ferran Torres, a former Manchester City player who now plays for Barcelona, is another in that category, although the deal feels like progress is slow.

Both Diaby and Torres will improve Villa's selection without upsetting the team. Because during his first six months at Villa Park, Emery quickly found a way to allow the team to reach its potential.

In addition to the selected several, Villa should be one of the teams to beat this season, as long as they can cope with Europa League matches while fulfilling their domestic commitments.

If he stays healthy, Bubacar Camara could be one of the stars of the season, while Emiliano Martinez, Tyrone Mins, Jacob Ramsay, Douglas Lewis and Watkins are among the best performers in the league under Emery.

Ramsey will stay on the sidelines for a while due to a foot injury, but there is no reason why the other four should not continue their previous work, although Emery never seems to fully believe in Martinez, who may not be his long-term solution. Target.

When Villa restructured their football structure to put Monchi, Emery and Football Operations Director Damia Vidagani at the helm, it's easy to rush into a lot of things.

However, it is important for Villa to understand that they already have a strong team and their calm attitude at the start of the transfer window shows that the message has been conveyed.