Aston Villa: Do Villa have the squad depth to end their 30-year drought?

Villa’s midfield has been devastated, with Kamara out after knee surgery last week.

His injury record was a consideration when Villa signed him from Marseille in 2022, but few would have expected two extended spells in three-and-a-half years. He previously missed eight months of 2024.

Captain McGinn could miss up to nine games with a knee problem while Tielemans may not return until April after suffering an ankle injury against Newcastle on Sunday.

Villa were targeting Conor Gallagher before his injury problems, but chose Tottenham after months of Villa negotiations.

Luiz returns to fill the gap, with the midfielder – who was on loan at Nottingham Forest – returning to the club that sold him to Juventus 18 months ago.

The Brazilian international has already missed 12 matches for Forest this season due to injuries.

Of the players available to Emery, Amadou Onana has missed 16 games due to injuries this season, including a hamstring problem that kept him out for six weeks, but the former Everton player is now vital.

Ross Barkley has been absent since the beginning of December due to a knee problem, as he missed 13 matches. Despite the 32-year-old’s lack of movement, Villa want to keep him as they need his experience, having rejected a loan request from Sheffield United this month.

Leon Bailey’s return from Roma will give Emery an option but the winger suffered three hamstring injuries while on loan in Italy.

The fact that Villa had to sell Jacob Ramsey to Newcastle for profit and sustainability reasons also means Emery has lost a key midfielder.

However, despite their problems and his appearance on the bench on Sunday, Harvey Elliott is not in Emery’s long-term plans. Villa will not pay to transfer the Liverpool loanee permanently and has not played since October.

“Yes, of course,” Emery said when asked on Wednesday if he had enough depth to compete.

“It’s time to improve, it’s time to be as strong as possible with the players we need and compete in different competitions.

“We want to try to improve in the second part of the season, to compete in the Europa League, compete in the Premier League, compete in the FA Cup.

“I hope we can compete in those competitions as champions as well. Our priority is clear, the Premier League.”