Unai Emery outlines big target as he marks three years in charge at Aston Villa
Friday marked the third anniversary of the Spaniard’s appointment with the club having undergone a dramatic upturn during his tenure.
But silverware has remained elusive, with Villa losing semi-finals in the Conference League and FA Cup over the past two seasons, while also being knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.
Emery said: “There is still work to do, there are still objectives to set and work hard to achieve, collectively and individually.
“One of them is a title. Of course, the title is by winning one of the Premier League or the cups in England or Europe. That is the target we can set, to achieve some titles and we are in this way.”
Villa, who will next March celebrate the 30th anniversary of their last major trophy win in the League Cup, were sat just above the relegation zone when Emery was chosen to replace Steven Gerrard.
They have subsequently qualified for Europe in three successive seasons and Emery, typically reluctant to talk too much about past achievements, expressed pride in what has been achieved so far.
The 53-year-old, a four-time winner of the Europa League, believes he is now a better manager than the one who first walked through the door in 2022.
He said: “We can be happy with the development we did, including myself because I am a better coach than three years ago.
“I am thankful to the players for helping me get better as a coach and thankful to the club for helping me with the opportunity to manage here.
“Achieving things we did, collectively and individually, each one can feel like I am feeling myself, proud of everything we did.”
Aston Villa: Unai Emery Shows True Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott Feelings vs GAE
Dan is a Football Writer for GIVEMESPORT, particularly focusing on Premier League football content, having started his career with the GIVEMESPORT academy in late 2020 during his University studies and has now worked his way up to a freelance role in April 2023.
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In what was initially viewed as a chance for Unai Emery and his entourage to experiment ahead of Aston Villa‘s back-to-back Premier League encounters against Manchester City and Liverpool, Thursday night turned out to be a bleak night to forget. And the Villa Park faithful have questioned two of Emery’s decisions.
De Adelaarshorst played host to Villa’s 2-1 defeat to Go Ahead Eagles: Evann Guessand opened the scoring within four minutes before Mathis Suray and Mats Deijl scored past Emiliano Martinez in the 42nd and 61st minute, respectively, to earn the Eredivisie side an unforeseen victory on home soil.
From Villa’s perspective, they endured a tricky start to the campaign, but it recently looked as if they had turned a corner. Heading into Thursday’s Europa League affair, they were on a six-match unbeaten streak – and the supporters have picked out two decisions made by Emery and Co which cost them the three points.
Watch the highlights from Villa’s 2-1 loss to Go Ahead Eagles below:
Villa Fans Believe Emery Made Two Poor Decisions in Europa League Loss
In an attempt to make it three from three in their 2025/26 Europa League campaign, Emery – widely regarded as one of the best managers in world football – gave the likes of Emiliano Buendia, Ian Maatsen, Victor Lindelof and Lamara Bogarde the chance to impress as they took the trip over to Overijssel, the Netherlands.
Plenty of big name players were rested as a result – and that was even the case after they made a quintet of substitutions in the second half. Matty Cash, Boubacar Kamara, Donyell Malen, Morgan Rogers and John McGinn were all introduced but Harvey Elliott was among those left on the bench.
“If Harvey Elliott can’t get any minutes against Go Ahead Eagles, then it’s totally pointless having him,” one supporter wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in confusion over the Englishman’s lack of minutes and what it means going forwards.
On loan from reigning Premier League champions Liverpool, Elliott moved to Birmingham in the summer of 2025 in the hopes of getting more minutes under his belt. Since his arrival, he’s been used sporadically by Emery and his entourage – and, at the time of writing, he’s racked up just 174 minutes across all competitions.
That has raised concerns among the supporters. “Aston Villa making all five changes against Go Ahead Eagles and Harvey Elliott not being one of them is just sad to see,” one fan said as a third wrote, “Harvey Elliott must be looking at the pitch thinking… ‘At least I was getting minutes at Liverpool. What have I done wrong?'”
Villa and Liverpool reached an agreement on Elliott’s move on an initial season-long loan, with a conditional obligation to make the transfer permanent next summer. That, however, depends on the playmaker making 10 appearances during the 2025/26 campaign.
| Harvey Elliott – Club Career Statistics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Games | Goals | Assists |
| Liverpool | 149 | 15 | 20 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 7 | 11 |
| Aston Villa | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Fulham | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Elliott, a two-time Premier League winner, is no doubt a terrific player. His concoction of talent and expertise could prove valuable for Villa’s pursuit of glory this term – and him featuring more often than not could help Emery towards that goal. That is the opinion of fans, as another wrote:
“The only good thing about today’s defeat to Go Ahead Eagles, is that the manager now realises that Elliott has got to start games, because he hasn’t played anywhere near the games he should’ve done. Harvey Elliott is a quality player, but, strangely, Emery doesn’t rate him.”
“Masters of our own downfall once again. Elliott not getting any minutes is criminal when you have [Evann] Guessand stinking up the place. I have a feel he will go back in January,” a final supporter concluded. Another issue raised was the fact that Jadon Sancho, who is on loan from Manchester United until the end of 2025/26, was taken off in the 66th minute.
More specifically, Sancho being hooked and Guessand – who failed to impress despite scoring their solitary goal – staying on has raised concerns in Emery’s decision-making among the fanbase. One wrote, “Taking Sancho off and leaving Guessand on is absolutely CRIMINAL. Sancho was our best player on that pitch!!!”
“I just don’t get why he’s taken Sancho off and not Guessand who has been awful. Sancho has been the one who has looked like he could create something,” another said. Despite being poor for a large chunk of his spell at Old Trafford, London-born Sancho showed flashes of his brilliance against Go Ahead Eagles. And, like Elliott, him being used more often by Emery would add a different dimension to their attack.
All statistics per Transfermarkt – correct as of 23/10/2025
Harvey Elliott Has Barely Played For Aston Villa – Theory Could Explain Why
Robin Mumford is a features writer for GiveMeSport. He joined in April 2024, having previously worked at VAVEL as Deputy Editor-in-Chief, where he produced a variety of content, including pieces from press conferences and games, and won an award for his role as lead-editor for the Women’s Football section of the online newspaper.
Covering football all across Europe, he has worked at stadiums such as Anfield, Old Trafford, and Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park, as well as having reported at both the 2023 men’s and women’s Champions League finals in Eindhoven and Istanbul.
He is infatuated with every aspect of football, but likes other sports as well, being an avid coffee-desperate Buffalo Bills supporter from across the pond and a darts newbie.
An interesting theory has emerged which could explain why Harvey Elliott has barely played for Aston Villa since his move from Liverpool over the summer. It was a bitter pill to swallow for the boyhood supporter that game time was not going to come easily at Anfield when an engine room of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, and Dominik Szoboszlai – which was the defining feature of the Reds’ 20th league title – was then bolstered by the £116 million arrival of Florian Wirtz.
Still only 22, the Englishman could at least leave Merseyside knowing he departed on a high. With 15 goals and 20 assists in 149 appearances, he lived his dream, capped it off with a second Premier League title, and remains adored by Liverpool supporters – ensuring his legacy stays intact.
However, his move to Villa Park appears to have already reminded him of the same struggles he faced at Liverpool, as the midfielder has managed just 167 minutes so far, despite Villa’s inconsistent form earlier in the season. Those back at Anfield were initially puzzled by the situation given his talent, but a theory that could explain everything has now surfaced.
Theory Emerges Over Harvey Elliott’s Aston Villa Struggles
Elliott’s season-long loan agreement includes both a buy-back and a sell-on clause, already signalling Liverpool’s continued interest in his long-term development. What’s less well known, however, are the terms tied to Villa’s obligation to buy. It was revealed by The Athletic that the 22-year-old must make at least 10 appearances in the 2025/26 campaign to trigger a £35 million permanent move.
With PSR concerns looming large over the West Midlands club ahead of the summer, that clause could be preventing Unai Emery from using Elliott as much as he might otherwise have liked. One Liverpool supporter took to X and theorised:
“I’m sure I read somewhere that there’s a minimum number of games/mintures that need to be triggered before the “loan to buy” gets triggered. That’s probably doing him no favours at the moment, as the club can hold playing time back if they are thinking they might not buy him.”
Elliott was named Player of the Tournament at the 2025 Under-21 European Championship, and Liverpool’s hierarchy fended off interest from clubs such as RB Leipzig and West Ham before concluding that a move to Aston Villa appeared, on the face of it, the best option for all parties involved.
How Harvey Elliott Has Performed At Aston Villa
It spoke volumes about Elliott’s potential that, even with competition for places at its fiercest under Arne Slot’s Liverpool, many supporters still had reservations about the club’s decision to let him go.
An attacking midfielder by trade, Elliott also possesses the qualities to operate effectively as a right-winger – as demonstrated when he replaced Mohamed Salah and scored the only goal in a 1-0 away win over eventual Champions League winners PSG last season. His versatility was highly valued at Anfield; however, that quality has yet to translate into his time at Villa. See his season statistics below:
Having started just twice and come off the bench a further three times, it’s clear that Elliott isn’t setting the world alight as many had expected. However, his overall pass success rate of just under 89 per cent, a duel win rate of 62.5 per cent, and an average of 2.63 shots per game suggest he’s at least doing his best to make an impact when given the opportunity.
What’s more, it ended up being he who would score the club’s first goal of the season after Emery’s side went four games without scoring a goal at the start of the campaign. Starting against Brentford in the third round of the League Cup, he pounced on a mistake to open the scoring. Watch his first goal for Aston Villa below:
With an average of only 34 minutes per appearance, though, it’s fair to say the former Fulham prodigy has barely been afforded even a fighting chance, and his goal never led to any real change of mind from those calling the shots at his new club. And, if Villa decide against making his move permanent, his playing time could take an even crueller turn, given he has already featured in half the games required to trigger his transfer clause.
It seems Elliott was fighting an uphill battle from the moment he arrived at Villa Park. Should his struggles continue, he could well find himself back at Anfield next summer – right back to square one. By then, it will be interesting to see whether he’s handed another chance under Slot, who gave him just 360 minutes of Premier League football in the 2024/25 campaign, or whether he begins to drift into journeyman territory through a series of loan moves.
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