In most circumstances, lifting the Europa League trophy and securing a Champions League place would put a club in a powerful position.
Instead, Villa’s squad has been dismantled this summer, leaving the club disadvantaged by a system it has openly criticised.
The need to meet European and Premier League financial regulations resulted in Morgan Rogers joining Chelsea for a club-record £117m.
That departure was followed by the sale of Youri Tielemans to Manchester United, with both players having scored in May’s Europa League final victory against Freiburg.
Villa also sought a different type of left-back, allowing Lucas Digne to move to Paris St-Germain before recruiting Matteo Ruggeri from Atletico Madrid.
With the opening match of the season at Brighton only days away, major questions still surround the makeup of Villa’s squad.
The team could lose much of its established core before the month ends, while goalkeeper Martinez is also expected to depart.
Some turnover had been anticipated as the squad was expected to begin breaking apart this summer, but Villa may now experience changes normally spread across two or three transfer windows.
Captain John McGinn responded firmly to questions about the overhaul last week, insisting that the structures and principles behind the club’s success remain intact. Villa also produced a strong performance despite their Super Cup defeat by PSG.
Nevertheless, uncertainty about the squad has not disappeared.
Emery has extracted as much as possible from his players during the past two seasons, and Villa now enter a decisive final two weeks of the transfer window.
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