‘Crazy’ – Unai Emery responds to ‘big six’ transfer spend as Tottenham point made

Unai Emery has labelled the Premier League’s ‘big six’ spending spree as “crazy” this summer, but insists he is embracing the challenge of keeping Aston Villa competitive both at home and in Europe.

Villa have offloaded several key figures in the current window, with Morgan Rogers, Lucas Digne, Ezri Konsa and Youri Tielemans all moving on, while Emi Martinez and Ollie Watkins could follow suit before the deadline.

With the final week of the transfer window looming, Villa are expected to be busy. The club has already brought in Matteo Ruggeri, Zion Suzuki and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and are lining up Taylor Harwood-Bellis as a replacement for Konsa. Talks are also underway to sign free agent Leon Goretzka.

At his pre-match press conference ahead of the Brighton opener, Emery faced repeated questions about the calibre of players departing his squad, particularly as rivals continue to bolster their own ranks.

When asked about the spending across the league, Emery chuckled and replied: “It’s crazy! Unbelievable, but that’s how it is. Financially, they have the means to do it. The Premier League is insane – and today I might go to my office and see another signing announced. The latest was Tottenham with Savinho. It’s fantastic for the league, and we’re part of it. Every day I’m working harder, and I’m grateful for everything football gives me.”

Despite the upheaval and Villa’s limited ability to spend without selling, Emery remains upbeat.

“I’m so, so happy,” he said. “Because this is a result of performing fantastically. The team and players are performing at a high level, and they’re receiving offers from clubs wanting to change their challenges – and naturally, we’re getting good deals out of it.

As a coach, my primary goal has always been to improve players and teams, to achieve collective objectives, and to help individuals develop. When that happens, I feel proud of the work we’ve done.”

He added: “Yes, it’s difficult, but we are Aston Villa. We’re challenging for top positions every year, we’re competing in Europe, and we’re achieving that. We have to adapt quickly to changes – and this year there are more than usual. But we’ve had changes before, last year and three years ago too.

When we perform at our best, collectively and individually, we’ve seen that over the past three seasons. This year, the consequence of that success is more movement – clubs are coming for our players and offering good deals. It’s part of the process we knew was coming.”