Amadou Onana is set for a long spell on the sidelines with a serious knee injury – dealing another blow to Aston Villa’s complex summer transfer plans.
The Belgium midfielder sustained the suspected ACL damage in his country’s 4-1 win over USA in the early hours of Tuesday, which set up a World Cup quarter-final against Spain on Friday.
Villa are still without Boubacar Kamara, who has also been recovering from a serious knee injury since the FA Cup win at Tottenham last January. While Kamara is progressing well, it is thought he will struggle to be fit for the start of the Premier League season.
Unfortunately for Villa, they cannot simply sign a replacement for Onana without having to balance the books elsewhere.
Amadou Onana suffered suspected ACL damage during Belgium’s World Cup win over USA
Boubacar Kamara is not expected to return from injury in time for the start of the season, leaving Aston Villa light in midfield
Villa were fined by UEFA this year and last for breaking spending rules and as part of their ‘settlement agreement’, Villa’s football spending cannot exceed what they recoup. In order to sign a high-level replacement for Onana, they would likely have to sell.
Villa co-owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens are believed to be unwilling to entertain selling Morgan Rogers unless they are offered much more than £100million.
Emi Martinez could also leave this summer and while his departure would ease the wage bill, the fee would not be particularly high.
Before Onana’s injury, boss Unai Emery’s priority had been to strengthen in wide areas, but UEFA’s limitations meant he had little room for manoeuvre. With Onana’s injury, Emery may need to forget about those ambitions for now.
