Aston Villa: £50m trio could now become big exits at Villa Park.

Aston Villa fans have seen the good times return to Villa Park in recent months, with Unai Emery having transformed the club’s fortunes ever since taking charge in October 2022.

Sitting in 14th position in the table when Steven Gerrard was sacked last year, it looked as if Aston Villa would spend the next two-thirds of the campaign fighting a relegation battle. They’d managed just three victories in their opening 12 league matches, but even the most optimistic of Villans would’ve struggled to see what happened next unfolding in real-time.

With the appointment of Emery came about a new dawn at Villa Park, with the former Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain manager responsible for a major turnaround in the club’s results. Not only did they start winning football matches again, Aston Villa started to climb up the table and in a rapid fashion too.

So much so, a run of just two defeats from their final 14 matches of the 2022/23 campaign saw Aston Villa propel themselves into seventh place in the Premier League table, and with it qualification for the Europa Conference League. It was the first time in 10 years Aston Villa had qualified for continental competition, marking a major achievement for the one-time European champions.

However, that added expectation has also brought about increased attention on some of their current players, with members of the Aston Villa squad tipped for big-money moves down the line. As a result, GIVEMESPORT have taken a look at the squad and put together a list of the next three most surprising departures from Aston Villa.

The story of Emiliano Martinez at Aston Villa is one of sheer determination to succeed. Arriving as a somewhat surprise transfer in September 2021, the then 29-year-old had finally decided to spread his wings and leave Arsenal after an eight-year stint with the Gunners. What followed next was a rollercoaster ride.

It’s safe to say that while Martinez has been a resounding success at Aston Villa, the £17 million man’s biggest achievements have come away from Villa Park. As a result of the platform provided to him by firstly featuring in Arsenal’s successful FA Cup triumph, but also by playing regular first-team for Aston Villa, Martinez was able to break into the Argentina national team and establish himself as the number-one pick.

Martinez would go on and star for Argentina in the 2021 Copa America (which they won), the 2022 Finalissima (which they won) and the 2022 World Cup (which, of course, they won too).

While he has shone for both club and country, Martinez’s agent hinted in the aftermath of the 2022 World Cup that the goalkeeper might look to manoeuvre a move away from Aston Villa in search of Champions League football. There had been some rumours that the likes of Bayern Munich were monitoring the shot-stopper ahead of the summer transfer window, but Martinez decided to stay at Aston Villa with Emery instead.

But should Aston Villa fail to meet the demands of Martinez going forward, what’s to say he won’t ditch the West Midlands outfit for pastures new?

Perhaps a surprise entry on this list, Youri Tielemans only put pen to paper on a move to Aston Villa in the recent summer transfer window, where the Belgian international signed a four-year deal with the club. Moving on a free transfer from Leicester City, the Villans beat off competition from the likes of Roma, Arsenal and Manchester United to secure his services.