Aston Villa backed to ‘do a Newcastle’ as ‘superstar’ signing mooted – pundit
Aston Villa could “do a Newcastle” and find themselves fighting for a European place next season.
That’s according to former Hibernian striker Tam McManus, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Unai Emery’s impact at the club.
Steven Gerrard’s replacement has won three of his five Premier League matches in charge of Villa with the most recent victory coming at Tottenham Hotspur on New year’s Day.
The results have pulled Villa away from the bottom three ahead of a hectic January schedule.
With the club expected to be busy in the transfer window, McManus sees no reason why Villa can’t follow Newcastle and be in contention for a European finish next season.
“They will be busy this month, I’m sure,” McManus told Football Insider‘s Ben Wild.
“Emery wants his own squad in there and he will have been promised money when he went in. I have no doubts about that.
“The money is there for a superstar signing. Villa want to do a Newcastle, don’t they? Why can’t they do that?
“The money is there and they have a decent enough squad. So throw a couple of bodies in this month, then a few more in the summer, you’re looking good.
“Emery is an outstanding coach and he will make those players even better.
“Teams will be looking over their shoulders and looking at what Villa do over the next few months.
“They have already beaten Man United so they are capable of beating those bigger teams.”
In other news, expert claims Aston Villa are particularly “concerned” by one injury after triple blow.