How Aston Villa hit gold on one of the signings of the summer

It would have been naive to expect Aston Villa to have come racing out the blocks at the start of the season. After all, the Europa League champions had been stripped of all their quality.

That’s obviously not quite true, but the Villa have lost a lot of their superstar power over the past several months, many leaving after lifting the Europa League title last year and heading into the Champions League for the second time in three campaigns.

The most bitter pill to swallow was Ollie Watkins‘ decision to draw down the curtain on his legendary Villa Park career, signing for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia for a £51m fee in August.

The 30-year-old Watkins’ potency and influence in the final third spearheaded a golden era in the Midlands, but he has now gone with all the others, and somehow, Unai Emery appears to have rebuilt his elite outfit.

How Emery has rebuilt his title-winning team

Emery is a special, special manager. The five-time Europa League champion would have been forgiven for falling by the wayside this summer. Many lesser coaches would have failed to counter the spate of blows.

Not Emery. Look at the £117m sale of Morgan Rogers to Chelsea, for example. The England star had been a linchpin in offence for the Villa, and he has made a prolific start to life under Xabi Alonso, yet Johan Manzambi looks like he could grow into the perfect heir in midfield, with The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell noting that the Swiss World Cup sensation is “regarded as the direct replacement” for Rogers.

Though the jury is still out for loanees Alejandro Garnacho and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Emery and co have countered the sales of players like Ezri Konsa and Emi Martinez astutely, with Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Zion Suzuki both talented replacements.

In midfield, Amadou Onana’s ACL injury has exacerbated a clearout fronted by Rogers and Youri Tielemans, but Joao Gomes and Leon Goretzka could be well worth their money in stepping in to cover.

And don’t forget Ibrahim Mbaye, who Villa tussled with Liverpool to sign from Paris Saint-Germain. The Senegalese winger is the real deal.

These are some fantastic signings, shrewdly delivered. It feels like this new iteration of Emery-charged players will continue to deepen their connection over the coming months.

However, there’s one arrival we haven’t mentioned yet who might take the cake as the finest of the summer window.

Aston Villa have hit gold on their signing of the summer

These are all exciting signings, but nobody at Villa Park last season, or over the previous years, offered more talismanic quality than Watkins, and replacing him was never going to be a walk in the park.

However, in the £65m Nicolas Jackson, Emery might just believe that he has landed an ideal successor. Jackson, 25, has joined the club from Chelsea, having spent last season on loan in Germany with Bayern Munich.

Jackson spent two years in the Premier League with Chelsea. He scored 24 goals, but he also missed a whopping 43 big chances. It’s clear he will need to tighten up his shooting, but Watkins missed his share of shots during his time at Aston Villa.

Jackson’s dynamic link-up play sets him apart from others. He can run and dribble and weave between defenders. Moreover, he has only missed one big chance in the league this term.

When Jackson first arrived this summer, he spoke of the importance of fighting for the badge and playing for Emery’s outfit with pride. He’s certainly taken the right steps toward achieving that so far this term, bagging against Club Brugge in the Champions League before netting his first Premier League goal in claret as the Villans beat Spurs in London.

£65m is no small sum, but if Jackson builds on these early performances, there’s no question that he will establish himself as a reliable frontman for this team.

After all, CIES Football Observatory already believe that his performances over the past year warrant an even loftier transfer value, priced at £77m on the current market.

Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs

Jackson has shown enough over the first few weeks of his time at Villa Park to excite supporters. Whether he lives up to Watkins’ legacy is one thing, but there’s no question Emery has the skill to tighten up his shooting and promote the dynamism that makes him such an interesting and nuanced attacking profile.

When we look back at this transfer window, we may well consider the big-money move for Jackson the sharpest signing of them all.