Emery must sell £26m Villa man who has seen an 86% drop in value

Unai Emery’s transfer business during his time in charge of Aston Villa has been excellent. Not only has he moved on players such as Moussa Diaby and Douglas Luiz for lavish fees, but he has brought in players who have wonderful futures in the game.

It marks a change from the recruitment that had occurred under previous manager Steven Gerrard, with several players failing to live up to their hype.

Steven Gerrard’s recruitment at Aston Villa

The former Rangers manager took charge in November 2021, tasked with leading Villa to the European spots. Gerrard made a few decent signings during the January 2022 transfer window, bringing in players such as Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne, who made solid impacts.

That summer, Coutinho’s loan deal was made permanent, before the likes of Robin Olsen, Leander Dendoncker, and Diego Carlos were signed ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Out of these players, only Carlos is still featuring for the first team, but what once looked like an impressive signing has potentially turned into a financial mistake…

How much Aston Villa spent on Diego Carlos

The Brazilian defender cost the club £26m in 2022, but he suffered a serious injury on his first Premier League start for Villa, ruling him out for the majority of his debut season.

He returned to full fitness last term, making 38 appearances in all competitions, yet Carlos has fallen down the pecking order this season, starting just seven times in all competitions under Emery.

The £100k-per-week defender has struggled in the Premier League. Across four games in the top flight, the centre-back has won just 1.3 total duels per game – a success rate of 31% – while losing possession six times per game and making only 0.5 tackles each game.

Hardly the statistics of a player at the top of their game. Will Emery consider his future when the January transfer window rolls around in a couple of months? Especially as he can call on several other players who appear to be favoured in his position.

These performances haven’t exactly done wonders for his current market value since joining the Midlands side, as it has dipped drastically over the previous two years…

Diego Carlos’ current market value at Aston Villa

Spending £26m on a player when the club had no European income was a risky piece of business and, in this regard, it has not paid off.

Indeed, according to Football Transfers, Carlos is currently valued at just €4.5m (£3.7m), clearly representing a massive drop from the fee Gerrard spent to secure his signature.

Emery must now ruthlessly ditch him from the squad in January, although Villa may have to take a huge loss on the defender, as his current market value does not suggest that any team is likely to spend £26m on him now.

This works out as a staggering 86% decrease from the original £26m fee in just over two years, proving that it hasn’t been the best piece of transfer business conducted by the club in recent years.