The clock is ticking for defender Andres Garcia at Villa Park. With only seven matches left in the Premier League campaign, the versatile forward finds himself at a critical career crossroads
With just seven Premier League games remaining, Andrés García is fighting for his Aston Villa future. Despite his versatility, a lack of minutes and recent injury struggles have left the defender at a crossroads.
Can the 23-year-old do enough to convince Unai Emery he deserves a place in next season’s squad, or is a summer exit inevitable? We look at the data behind his precarious situation.
A signing that has never delivered. Garcia’s painful reality
When Andres Garcia arrived from Levante’s Segunda División operation in January 2025, the timing appeared to work in his favour.
Matty Cash’s stock was at a low point following a difficult run of form and the opportunity to establish himself as a genuine rival at right-back seemed genuinely open and available.
Initial positive reviews suggested a player capable of making his mark in the Premier League. That early promise, however, made what followed even more disappointing and frustrating.
A shocking error against Liverpool in a 2-2 draw just weeks after signing undermined his confidence and his standing simultaneously. Injuries compounded that difficult start throughout the current campaign, limiting the 23-year-old to just six appearances across all competitions and a meagre 37 Premier League minutes across the entire season.
That figure alone tells the story of a player who has been present at Villa Park without ever truly being part of what Emery has built.
| Garcia Villa Career | 2024-25 | 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|
| Total Appearances | 10 | 6 |
| Premier League | 7 | 4 |
| FA Cup | 3 | 1 |
| Europa League | — | 1 |
| PL Minutes | Limited | 37 |
| Goals / Assists | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 |
Poor stats. Nothing to show for it
The underlying performance data from Garcia’s limited appearances makes uncomfortable reading. In the Premier League this season, the Spanish right-back has registered zero expected goals, zero expected assists, and zero shots: a statistical baseline that reflects not simply poor form but a near-total absence of meaningful contribution.
His most significant individual display came in the Europa League against Fenerbahçe, where 15 minutes produced just three completed passes, one defensive action, and a cross accuracy of zero per cent.
Those numbers are not a fair reflection of a fully fit player given sustained opportunity. Garcia has been denied that opportunity by injury and by the form of those ahead of him in Emery’s selection hierarchy.
Nevertheless, the fact that even limited appearances have produced nothing of statistical note suggests a player who is yet to find any rhythm, confidence, or comfort within Villa’s demanding system. Furthermore, the brutal reality is that seven games remain and the window for changing that narrative is almost closed.
The Bogarde indicator: the most damning signal for Garcia
Perhaps the clearest signal of Garcia’s standing within Emery’s squad comes from a single selection observation. Lamare Bogarde, a young defender signed primarily as a centre-back, has been deployed out of position at right-back ahead of the Spanish international.
That decision reflects not a tactical preference for Bogarde’s specific qualities in that role, but rather a preference for almost any available option over Garcia.
Furthermore, the fact that Garcia himself has previously started ahead of Cash, Poland’s regular right-back and one of Villa’s most consistent performers this season, confirms that when fit and available, the 23-year-old is theoretically capable of forcing his way into the starting XI.
The question is whether he can demonstrate that capability within the seven-game window that remains.
The run-in, including fixtures against Bologna in the Europa League, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, and Manchester City, provides a stage. Whether Emery grants him access to it is the critical unknown.
