Aston Villa - 26/27 Draft FPL Pre-Season Thoughts

Written 23rd July 2026 · Everything here very much subject to change, subscribe to the podcast/YouTube channel for all the latest.

This blog is part of Draft FC's Team-by-Team 2026/27 early pre-season series — see all 20 previews in one place here

Emery

Villa under Emery keep being quietly excellent. I wonder if pound for pound, Emery is the most valuable Manager for his respective club in the Premier League? A top 4 finish, Champions League football again and the 2025/26 Europa League trophy in the cabinet for good measure. Emery has signed a new 5-year deal so the platform is about as stable as it gets in this league from a leadership perspective, but in terms of the player personnel, he's going to have his work cut-out again. The big complication is money. PSR and UEFA limits mean Emery will likely have to continue with a leaner, younger squad and sales will likely fund anything ambitious.

Big departures, big opportunities?

Morgan Rogers has been sold to Chelsea for a whopping £117m. It already feels cliché to comment on these fees now and we are having to quickly adjust to a new normal (with added inflation!). Do I think Rogers is worth that kind of money? No.
Do I think he's a big loss for Villa? Yes, but that kind of offer is an absolute no-brainer which will help ease their financial and personnel issues.

The other big departure was Youri Tielemans to Man Utd for £35m after they triggered his release clause. I think if you asked Villa whether they'd rather have Tielemans in the squad or the 35m, they'd probably prefer Tielemans for the value he brought to their team.

Watkins, and why I'm letting someone else have him

16 goals, 167 points and the model still loves him. We've crunched the numbers a few times this summer and he keeps coming out around the 200-point mark. I'm cautious here as I think we may have already seen the best of Watkins in a Villa shirt. Last season saw a slow start, strong finish, 24 blanks across the season and one of the most boom or bust profiles among the premium forwards - his coefficient of variation was up at 0.97, which for a first-rounder (especially in a head to head league) is uncomfortable. The numbers don't lie though, he is one of the most reliable fantasy assets in the game, averaging 15 goals a season and has never played less than 2,500 minutes over a PL campaign, he also has a 200+ season under his belt putting him in an elite FPL hall of fame bracket. His position in my final rankings is currently more dependent on who else Villa add to their first-team, than anything he needs to prove.

The cavalry

Villa have also been busy with new arrivals - the first big name up is Johan Manzambi signed from Freiburg for £60m. He feels like the most likely successor to Tieleman's role in the team but feels far more versatile in his skillset. He has played as a 6, an 8 and a 10 (gooooood ebenin) and feels like an old-fashioned, 90s centre-mid who can just do a bit of everything. He only fully broke into the Freiburg first team last season so there isn't a huge amount of data to back him up, but his 9 goal involvements from NPxGI per 90 of 0.32 feels replicable, and as good (if not better) than any output numbers we've seen from Tielemans. The only question mark is how he is used.

Another big move hot off the press is a deal to bring in Chelsea winger Garnacho, for a loan + obligation deal likely amounting to just north of £40m. This feels like the most Villa signing of the window so far and potentially just as good of a creative/attacking threat as Morgan Rogers, but for a fraction of the price. If Garnacho can knuckle down and prove his worth, he could be one of the best mids in the game, that's his ceiling. We just need to see it consistently over a full campaign. His NPxGI figures in the PL average 0.57 from 6,000+ total minutes. BUT, he has consistently under-performed these expected figures considerably, with a PL career xG of 27 and just 17 goals to show for it. He could be a player I reach for in the middle rounds.

We also saw João Gomes brought in from Wolves as further midfield bolstering which was (and still is) much needed, especially as Douglas Luiz's loan ended. He's another one that feels like an Emery player and we know he can be very handy with the old defcon points.

The rest of the board

Emi Martínez is a decent keeper, but does commonly seem to miss the odd week with minor knocks which always puts me off drafting him as my prime keeper on draft day. Their defence was one of the more disappointing units last season, not particularly big on clean sheets or attacking returns, and all seemingly allergic to defcons. There are also rumours Konsa could be off to Arsenal which we need to keep an eye on. Overall for a team that performs so well in real-life, there is perhaps the biggest mis-match in the number of decent FPL assets they bring.

The opening run

It's alright. Brighton away, Arsenal at home in GW2, then Hull away, Forest at home, Spurs away, Brentford at home. That opening pairing is probably off-putting enough to not want to draft any of their defenders or fringe players, instead we can assess how they shape-up in those games and look to raid the Villa ranks in the waivers ahead of GW3.

Early verdict

As it stands Aston Villa are having the best transfer window in the league. Being able to bring in £200m+ already I think provides more opportunities than limitations. Manzambi and Garnacho are savvy additions for their respective prices and I think both can add new dimensions to how Villa play in transition. As usual, the squad still needs filling out a little bit if they wish to compete on all fronts again, particularly as some of their regulars are not getting any younger, but overall I predict another solid season under Emery.

How can I hate on a team that chose to play their B team against Spurs to help their fellow comrades out in a relegation battle?

Stay shook,

Draft FC Mitch

Where our full rankings live

As I said, these previews are just some of my notes and early thoughts, my complete top 240 rankings live within our members area. The Top 20 reveal stays free so keep your eyes peeled for that episode in early August. The rest though, plus all our other member benefits, sit inside a Draft FC membership and if you want to find out more about that, head here.

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