Aston Villa’s dream XI for 2026-27 as Nicolas Jackson linked

Aston Villa are looking to strengthen this summer after again qualifying for the Champions League and have already pulled off their some impressive moves this window.

The Birmingham side beat Newcastle to the signing of Switzerland World Cup star Johan Manzambi and have nabbed Joao Gomes from relegated rivals Wolves.

Here’s how the Villans could look come next season.

GK: Emiliano Martinez

12 months on from what looked like a goodbye to the Villa Park crowd, Martinez remains at the Birmingham club and the suggestion is that will stay true in the immediate future.

He has been linked with Juventus but leaving the Premier League often means reducing your wage demands.

The Argentine shot stopper is 33 now, which means Villa will have to start thinking about long-term replacements, but the club missed out on the likes of Zion Suzuki and James Trafford.

Barring a massive collapse in form, Martinez is still a good first choice for the time being.

RB: Emerson Royal

Ex-Spurs defender Emerson could be on his way back to the league with Villa reportedly putting in a €10m bid for the right back.

He is currently playing for Flamengo but did concede he was flattered to be linked with the Birmingham club,

“As I always say, until anything is decided, my focus is always on Flamengo,” Emerson told Itatiaia Esporte.

“I’m very happy to receive this proposal because it shows my work is being recognised. My focus is on Flamengo, but I don’t know what the future holds.”

CB: Ezri Konsa

More than any new signing, Villa fans’ top wish this summer will be Konsa sticking around.

The 28-year-old England international is subject to strong rumours linking him to Premier League champions, especially in light of William Saliba’s injury but Villa will fight hard to keep him at the club.

Konsa has two years left on his deal and with the guarantee of first team football and playing in the Champions League, Villa are in a strong negotiating spot.

CB: Pau Torres

Like his defensive partner, Torres also has two seasons to go on his current deal with Villa looking to extend the Spaniard.

Torres has already said he has no plans to leave before his contract ends and if the club continues on the same trajectory, he will likely stick around beyond that.

LB: Matteo Ruggeri

With Lucas Digne returning to PSG, Villa are in need of a left-back reinforcement.

Earlier in the window, they were linked with former Brighton player Pervis Estupinan who now plays for Milan but those links have gone cold and instead Matteo Ruggeri has been put forward as an option.

The 24-year-old played 47 times for Atletico Madrid last season but Diego Simeone’s side is reportedly open to him leaving.

Romano suggests Atletico are looking to offload Ruggeri and another player in order to finance a move for Tottenham’s Cristian Romero.

CM: Johan Manzambi

The injury to Andre Onana at the World Cup may have spurred Villa into action and they have become the latest club to hijack a Newcastle deal.

Switzerland’s Manzambi had agreed personal terms with the north-east club but Villa snuck in with the offer of Champions League football and that is reportedly what swayed him.

The central midfielder has been impressive with Switzerland at the summer tournament and before that registered nine goal contributions for Freiburg in the Bundesliga.

Every Premier League fixture following Champions League dates in 2026-27

CM: Joao Palhinha

The departure of Youri Tielemans to Manchester United left Villa with the need for a new midfielder and a surprise name has been linked in the form of Joao Palhinha.

The Bayern Munich player spent last season on loan at Tottenham but the deal was not made permanent, allowing Villa to test their chances.

TEAMtalk says Palhinha has several options but Villa are viewed as the favourite as it stands. The Birmingham side are reportedly after a loan with an option to buy deal which is what Tottenham had last season.

CM: Joao Gomes

Villa beat Atletico Madrid to the signing of Gomes, snapping up the Brazilian midfielder from Wolves for a tidy £38million.

The £117million sale of Morgan Rogers to Chelsea has more than financed that deal and Gomes should prove to be an astute signing.

RM: Ibrahim Mbaye

McGinn will always be first choice but at 31, his minutes will be managed and so Villa could look to recruit in this area.

The BBC suggests PSG’s Mbaye could be an option who may accept that he is unlikely to break into the Parisians’ starting XI any time soon.

Villa would have to beat interest from Tottenham though.

LM: Alejandro Garnacho

Unai Emery already gets a lot of plaudits but if he can somehow revive the career of Garnacho then it will be one of his great accomplishments.

From the outside looking in, the signing of the 22-year-old seems bizarre given how poor he was at Chelsea but Emery has forgotten more about football than we know so maybe he sees something in him.

He comes in having to replace Morgan Rogers but he will not be expected to even come close to that standard.

ST: Nicolas Jackson

Ollie Watkins has been linked with a move away and while Villa were linked with Julian Quinones, attention seems to have switched to Nicolas Jackson.

Chelsea have too many strikers on their books and are reportedly looking at let one of them go. With Liam Delap receiving minimal interest, Jackson may well be the man to depart.

Villa are said to be interested in the 25-year-old who talkSPORT suggest could see Villa wait until the end of the window due to a UEFA rule.

The European footballing body state that multiple transfers between clubs in a 45-day window go down as a swap and therefore impact the profit/loss ratio. Given Villa have just sold Rogers to Chelsea, that could prompt them to wait until the 45 days has passed before making an official move.

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