Marcus Rashford and Morgan Rogers react to Amadou Onana’s four-word message
Amadou Onana sent a message on social media after his injury-afflicted Premier League season with Aston Villa.
The 2024/25 season ended in disappointment for Unai Emery‘s side as they missed out on a spot in the Champions League by the narrowest of margins, beaten to fifth place by Newcastle on goal difference.
As a result of their controversial 2-0 loss to Manchester United on the final day, Villa will miss out on a windfall of up to £200million and are instead forced to settle for a Europa League place next season.
A difficult summer transfer window is on the cards for Villa as they attempt to balance the books and avoid a PSR breach, and big-money moves for the likes of Marcus Rashford now look highly unlikely.
Onana makes international return away from Aston Villa
Onana was one of Villa’s standout performers against Man United as Emery’s side had a final day to forget at, after Thomas Bramall’s whistle prevented a VAR review on Morgan Rogers’ disallowed goal.
The Belgian midfielder has had a solid first season at Villa Park after his £50m move from Everton last summer, but injuries have restricted him to just 26 Premier League appearances in Emery’s midfield.
Those injuries also saw the 23-year-old miss Belgium’s first two matches of 2025 under new coach Rudi Garcia, but Onana is back in the fold for their matches against North Macedonia and Wales this month.
In an Instagram post (2 June) liked by both Rogers and Rashford, Onana said: “It‘s been a while Belgian Red Devils, chama [meaning ‘eat’ in Wolof].”
Onana likely to stay put amid Aston Villa fire-sale
Football Insider verdict
The Villans face yet another turbulent summer of transfer business and could lose several stars in a bid to balance the books, and Emiliano Martinez’s future increasingly looks set to be away from Villa Park.
Few links have emerged over a possible exit for Onana, but his fellow midfielder Rogers has already attracted plenty of interest with a £100m move to either Manchester City or Chelsea on the cards.
Villa’s £40m move for Rashford after a largely successful half-season loan spell could still happen this summer, but Champions League qualification would have certainly gone some way to providing the funds needed.