Former Aston Villa player Joe Cole is not exactly shy about his current stance on the club. While speaking with The Sun, the former midfielder shared his belief that Villa will not be able to do well during the 2025-2026 season.
Cole's take is not one that targets a single player or how Unai Emery is as a manager. Instead, for Cole, the fact that PSR and SCR have not allowed Villa to bring in as many fresh talents to the team compared to others is one that worries him.
It is something that is commonly believed and unquestioned. While all of the other sides continue to build up their roster, Villa have instead doubled down on their belief in those already on the roster.
This is why the assessment of Cole is not complete. Certainly adding more good players will help a team. There is also the element of chemistry and understanding within the system that needs to be taken into account. Granted, the best top-end players can more or less make it work anywhere. For the most part, though, there are only a few players who would be able to seamlessly transition to any club in the world while still maintaining an excellent level of play.
Villa have the advantage in that this collection of talent has already played together and achieved a certain level of success from this past campaign.
Overlooked Aston Villa aspect
There are still some newcomers on the roster. For the most part, however, this is a team that has been able to stay together for a bit now in terms of club operations. The lack of incoming players has instead been replaced with the security of those already in claret and blue on long-term contracts.
Some may agree with Cole's take. It should not come as too much of a surprise if Villa were to have a great season ahead, even though there were not as many large signings compared to the other clubs in the Premier League.