Unai Emery has done a wonderful job at Aston Villa, but the renowned European trophy specialist is facing a surprise semi-final exit from the Europa Conference League.
The Spaniard's sapped Villa side have been exemplary this season and are poised to finish in the top four for the first time since 1995/96, under Brian Little, barring successive defeats to close the campaign and an improbable late resurgence from Tottenham Hotspur, who have lost four in a row in the Premier League.
Much of the roaring Lions faithful would cherish triumph in a cup competition, but Emery's side face the very real threat of falling against Greek side Olympiacos after losing 4-2 at Villa Park in last Thursday's first leg.
While the toil of a high-intensity, unrelenting campaign appears to have taken its toll on a remarkable team that is now showing signs of wear and tear, there is still plenty to fight for, plenty to rejoice over, with two men in particular, Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey, supercharging the pursuit of something greater, light at the end of a deep, dark tunnel.
Bailey and Watkins' performances this season
Watkins and Bailey have formed one of the Premier League's most lethal partnerships this season, with the brilliant striking threat of the former melding with Bailey's dynamic skill set to put the initial grumblings over his poor performances to bed.
Indeed, Villa signed Bailey from Bayer Leverkusen for £25m back in 2021 and he was remarked to be "struggling" under Emery's wing only last year, according to journalist Ashley Preece, posting only four goals and four assists during the 2022/23 Premier League season.
The 26-year-old is now flying high as a central figure in the Villan system, scoring 14 goals and adding 14 assists in all competitions this season and being praised for his "special" qualities by journalist Bence Bocsak.
He's been fantastic, but he hasn't been as good as Watkins, whose astounding potency in attacking phases has been vital to his side's rise and rise under Emery, now destined for a date with the Champions League after many, many years away from Europe's elite.
The Athletic's Jacob Tanswell has even called the Three Lions phenom "virtually unplayable" for his extraordinary efforts, ranking among the top 19% of centre-forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals but also among the top 4% for assists per 90, as per FBref.
Villa fans have been blessed to witness two of the Premier League's finest forwards of the season, week in, week out. Emery has got many things right since succeeding Steven Gerrard in the dugout back in 2022 but there's perhaps been no bigger triumph than shipping a certain forward on swiftly.
Danny Ings didn't have the desired impact at Aston Villa, and had he not been sold when he was, the likes of Bailey and Watkins might not have found the freedom to rise to their current levels of brilliance.
Why Aston Villa signed Danny Ings
Ings was a household name on English shores following a fantastic stint at Southampton, scoring 46 goals and supplying ten assists across 100 outings for the South Coast club, praised for being a "goal machine" by reporter Joe Prince-Wright.
A Premier League-proven scorer with a commanding presence in the final third: Ings was exactly what Aston Villa needed, and so Dean Smith forged ahead with a deal to sign the three-cap England international for a fee of £25m in August 2021.
His past feats didn't seem to translate to life in the Midlands, where the now 31-year-old bagged seven goals and added six assists across 30 Premier League appearances, though he only started 22 times as he failed to exude the authority and prowess of seasons past.
Why Aston Villa sold Danny Ings
Ings scored just 14 goals across 52 matches for Aston Villa, and while he enjoyed relative success during the first half of the 2022/23 campaign, scoring five goals across his final eight Premier League matches for the Villa Park side, Emery swiftly decided to cut his club's losses on the player.
So when West Ham United came calling and tabled a £15m offer to bring Ings to east London, it was a no-brainer, with the Spanish manager clearly recognising the potential of players such as Watkins and Bailey, bolstering these gems with the addition of Jhon Duran, the teenager arriving from Colorado Rapids for £18m at the same time of Ings' sale.
1.
Boubacar Kamara
£150k-per-week
2.
Philippe Coutinho
£125k-per-week
3.
Danny Ings
£120k-per-week
3.
Emiliano Martinez
£120k-per-week
3.
Lucas Digne
£120k-per-week
3.
John McGinn
£120k-per-week
7.
Leon Bailey
£100k-per-week
7.
Diego Carlos
£100k-per-week
7.
Tyrone Mings
£100k-per-week
The list above emphasises quite clearly the urgency to ship Ings on when it became apparent that he wasn't going to solidify a role of clinical prominence at Villa Park, enjoying a comparative rate of scoring but suffering several niggling injuries during his stay and being deemed expendable by Emery, who had big plans to strengthen across the park.
It's hard to argue that the 52-year-old was wrong to take this bold approach; just look at how the team has gone from strength to strength since.
Moreover, Ings – who, as shown above, was earning more than both Bailey and Watkins (£75k-per-week) – has only scored four goals across 50 fixtures for West Ham, failing to unleash more than a tincture of his past style and swagger.
And, as such, recent reports have suggested that the Hammers have transfer-listed the striker for just £6.5m, further illuminating the success in recouping £15m for his services in 2023.
Aston Villa target £52m Emery favourite who plays like Grealish
Unai Emery’s team would solidify their hopeful status among Europe’s elite with this ambitious signing.
ByAngus Sinclair May 7, 2024
It might not have been the most lucrative of sales – let's not forget that Villa suffered a loss on Ings – but given his present woes, it's a good job that Emery and his team moved swiftly to ship in on before the rot spread.
It was a critical juncture but one that paid off, with the outfit's free-flowing attack reaping the rewards.
