Aston Villa squad analysis: Who are Unai Emery's long-term building blocks?

The news that Unai Emery is close to agreeing a new contract at Aston Villa is music to fans’ ears, and is a big statement on the direction the club is travelling in the next few years.

With Emery set to be locked into Villa’s project beyond 2029, now is a good time to assess the building blocks that are in place which will form the core of his squad in the coming seasons, by looking at the senior players who are under contract through at least 2029 at each position.

Error against Fulham aside, Suzuki is off to a great start as Villa’s replacement for Emi Martinez between the sticks. The 24-year-old is under contract through 2031 and as long as he is not lured elsewhere, already looks to have given Emery a clear answer at a vital position.

The main decision to be made here is whether Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s loan, which contains a conditional obligation, is made permanent. He turns 29 this month, and if the answer to that question is no, Villa will need to find another understudy/eventual successor to Cash.

It will be interesting to see if Cash gets another contract, as he will be 32 in August after his current deal expires in 2029. There is some future planning to be done at right back.

This is clearly the most precarious position in Villa’s squad. Pau Torres is on record saying he wants to return to Villarreal when his Villa contract ends in 2028, while Tyrone Mings is likely to be released at the end of this season.

Victor Lindelof may get an extension as he has become an integral part of Emery’s team, but he turns 33 next summer, so any new contract will probably not take him beyond 2029. We know very little about Harwood-Bellis and Cisse, the two players under contract long-term.

The club probably needs to dip back into the centre back market again in the summer as they start to chart a course for the future.

Villa seem pretty much set at left back, with Maatsen under contract through 2029, when he will still only be 27, and Ruggeri through 2031.

Kamara is one of Villa’s prized assets, and between Onana and Gomes, Emery should have strong options in midfield in the next few years, once Onana is back from his ACL injury.

The X-factor here is Alejandro Garnacho, who has a conditional obligation in his loan deal from Chelsea. If he comes good and signs permanently, he could form an exciting attacking trio behind the striker alongside Manzambi and Mbaye, although Alysson will have a say in that conversation.

What this group lacks is another central option outside of Manzambi, and perhaps a different profile of wide midfielder in the John McGinn or Emi Buendia mould.

Neither of them are likely to be on the team beyond 2029, with Buendia’s contract expiring after this season (a renewal could still be on the cards, but he turns 30 this year) and McGinn’s up after 2028, when he will be nearly 34.

Abraham’s contract, which runs until 2030, may be more of a liability than an asset for Villa given Emery was happy to let him go this summer, just six months after signing him.

Regardless of whether he stays or goes in the next few windows, Emery has to feel great about having Jackson and Madjo as their forward options moving forward.

Jackson has been everything they could have hoped for in an Ollie Watkins replacement, and in fact has been an upgrade, while Madjo looks like a star in the making. Most teams in Europe would envy Villa’s striker situation.