Aston Villa struggling to 'cover up' Zion Suzuki issue, it's 'very damaging' - Insider
Aston Villa will find it hard to live without first-choice goalkeeper Zion Suzuki when he heads off to the Asian Cup in January.
That is according to former Villa chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that the imminent absence will have been factored into the 24-year-old's price tag in the summer.
The Japan international made the switch to Villa Park for £30million, despite Parma having previously held out for a higher price for their star man.
However, Wyness believes that Suzuki's prolonged absence at the start of 2027 left them unable to hold Villa to ransom over the fee.
The Asian Cup is due to begin in Saudi Arabia on 7 January, with the final set to take place just under one month later on 5 February.
Unfortunately for Villa, that coincides with one of the busiest spells of their season, as Suzuki could potentially miss up to seven games for them in all competitions if he is selected by Japan as expected.
Aston Villa happy to rely on Marco Bizot
Villa's former chief Wyness - who served as CEO at Villa Park between 2016 and 2018 and now runs a consultancy business advising elite clubs - believes that Unai Emery must be satisfied with his other goalkeeping options, given that he still chose to go ahead and sign Suzuki.
Marco Bizot is the current backup for the youngster, but he has made just one appearance in the Premier League so far this season.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, Wyness suggested that Emery must be satisfied with the situation, given that the club will have known about it for several months now.
"It's very damaging, and when Suzuki came into Villa, everybody thought, well, this is a reasonable price for a very good goalkeeper. Now we know the reason. There's a big cost to missing these games," he said.
"It's very difficult to see how Villa can cover up that loss right now. They've obviously taken that into account when they bought him. They knew that was going to be happening. Everybody should be aware; I hope so anyway.
"You've got to plan that sort of thing ahead. They obviously believe that they've got backups that they think can cover this particular period of time.
"But that price for Suzuki isn't looking so attractive right now when the rubber hits the road, and you actually lose him for that period of time."
Leon Goretzka set for 'huge role' at Aston Villa
Former Villa scout Bryan King told Football Insider on Sunday that Villa midfielder Leon Goretzka is set to take on a "huge role" in the team when he returns from injury.
Saturday's draw with Brentford came too soon for the veteran German, but Emery recently revealed that he could be involved in the upcoming Champions League clash against Fenerbahce.
King believes that Goretzka's experience could transform Villa's fortunes, and also noted that he will provide worthy cover for the injured Amadou Onana.
Goretzka arrived at Villa Park in the summer with a huge CV behind him, and he is about to get the chance to show his new fans exactly what he can do.