Unai Emery Focuses on Europa League as Sancho Future Waits
Unai Emery has no interest in discussing Jadon Sancho’s future. Not now. Not with a Europa League semi-final within touching distance.
Aston Villa carry a 3-1 lead into the second leg of their quarter-final against Bologna, and the Villa manager was in no mood to let the narrative drift towards contracts and transfer sagas on the eve of one of the club’s biggest European nights in decades.
“This is not the time to speak about the future,” was the clear message when Sancho’s situation was raised.
Sancho on hold, Bologna in focus
Sancho’s story is already complicated enough. On loan from Manchester United in what is currently his final season under contract at Old Trafford, the winger is heading towards free agency in June. Borussia Dortmund’s managing director Lars Ricken has already admitted the Bundesliga club are exploring a return for a player who once lit up the Yellow Wall.
His recent years have been far less luminous. Sancho struggled to convince at United, then again during a loan at Chelsea. At Villa, he has at least found a home on the team sheet, if not yet the numbers to match his reputation: 31 appearances in all competitions, but 14 of them from the bench, one goal and three assists in 1,520 minutes.
A shoulder injury kept him out of Villa’s last two games, including that statement 3-1 win in Bologna which has put Emery’s side in complete control of the tie. Now, though, Sancho is back in the frame.
“We spoke a lot during the season with him, about his task with us, how we need his performances, his qualities, but now it is about tomorrow,” Emery said.
“He is coming back. He is a fantastic player and he needs to be consistent. He has been demanding and he adapted to our structure.
“It is a pity in the last two weeks he has been injured, because he finished before the break playing fantastically.”
The message is deliberate. The future can wait. Bologna cannot.
Martinez back, but Bizot makes his case
If Sancho’s role is one talking point, the goalkeeper position is another. Emiliano Martinez was supposed to start against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, only to pull up with a calf problem in the warm-up. Marco Bizot was thrown in at the last minute and responded with the kind of composure that catches a manager’s eye.
Emery’s admiration for his World Cup-winning No.1 is obvious.
“He is a fantastic goalkeeper, a fantastic guy, he is ready. He is performing amazingly and we are very proud of him,” he said of Martinez.
But Bizot’s display in the 1-1 draw has at least sharpened the competition.
“Every day we are praying to have everybody available to play. When something happens in the last minute, like Sunday, wow, how well Marco responded.
“Today he [Martinez] trained with us. As normal, he is going to be available for tomorrow and tomorrow we will decide.”
It is a good problem to have: a fit Martinez, and a deputy who has just proved he can handle the pressure.
Villa the favourites – and acting like it
The numbers are emphatic. The Opta supercomputer gives Villa a 97% chance of reaching the semi-finals. A 64% shot at the final. At 42%, they are clear favourites to win the whole competition.
Inside the camp, the talk is not about probabilities. It is about ruthlessness.
“You play to win it. That’s my mentality and also the mentality of many players in the squad,” said Youri Tielemans.
“When you get there, you have to make sure you play the game as well as you can and not think about the end, because that’s where you can get carried away sometimes. We need to keep playing like we do and hopefully win those games.”
Tielemans’ words echo Emery’s approach. No drifting towards dreams of Dublin, no getting lost in what Sancho might do next season or where Martinez ranks among Europe’s elite. Just the next 90 minutes, and the chance to turn a strong position into something more tangible.
Villa stand on the brink of a European semi-final. With Sancho returning, Martinez available and belief hardening by the week, the question is no longer whether they belong at this level.
It is how far they intend to go.
