Aston Villa have confirmed their 23-man squad for the 2026/27 Champions League league phase, with Unai Emery including the majority of his summer signings but making several significant omissions.
Nicolas Jackson, Ibrahim Mbaye, Johan Manzambi, Alejandro Garnacho, Leon Goretzka, João Gomes and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are all registered for Villa’s return to Europe’s elite competition.
However, £30million Deadline Day signing Taylor Harwood-Bellis is not included.
UEFA has now published the complete Aston Villa Champions League squad for 2026/27, with Emery selecting 23 players for the league phase.
Villa begin their campaign away to Club Brugge on Tuesday, with our Club Brugge vs Aston Villa guide containing the kick-off time, TV channel and latest team news.
Aston Villa Champions League squad 2026/27
Villa’s registered UEFA squad currently contains:
Goalkeepers
- Zion Suzuki
- Marco Bizot
- James Wright
Defenders
- Matty Cash
- Victor Lindelöf
- Tyrone Mings
- Matteo Ruggeri
- Pau Torres
- Ian Maatsen
- Lamare Bogarde
- Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Midfielders
- Ross Barkley
- John McGinn
- Boubacar Kamara
- Leon Goretzka
- João Gomes
- Johan Manzambi
Forwards
- Emiliano Buendía
- Nicolas Jackson
- Alejandro Garnacho
- Tammy Abraham
- Ibrahim Mbaye
- Alysson
That gives Emery three goalkeepers, eight defenders, six midfielders and six forwards.
UEFA confirmed that all 36 league-phase clubs were required to submit their List A selections by 2 September, ahead of the opening fixtures beginning on Tuesday 8 September.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis is major Aston Villa omission
The headline absence is Harwood-Bellis.
Villa completed a Deadline Day deal worth an initial £25m, potentially rising to £30m, for the England international after Ezri Konsa’s departure.
Yet Harwood-Bellis was subsequently left outside Emery’s European squad.
We first reported Villa’s decision to omit the £30m defender after UEFA published the final list.
Emery has since explained his reasoning.
The Villa boss believes the presence of Mings, Pau, Lindelöf and additional emergency cover from Bogarde and Kamara gives him enough options during the league phase.
More importantly, Emery has already opened the door for Harwood-Bellis to enter Villa’s European plans in January.
The omission therefore appears to be a registration decision rather than a reflection of his long-term importance.
Amadou Onana and Kéba Cissé also miss out
Harwood-Bellis is not the only senior player absent.
Amadou Onana does not appear in UEFA’s current Villa squad while he continues his long-term recovery from the ACL injury suffered during the summer.
Deadline Day-era defensive addition Modou Kéba Cissé is another absentee.
Young forward Brian Madjo is also not among the 23 names currently published by UEFA.
The contrast with Villa’s domestic squad is important.
Harwood-Bellis is fully available in the Premier League and was included when Villa named their 22-man senior Premier League squad for 2026/27.
UEFA registration rules are different.
Clubs can name a maximum of 25 List A players, but eight places are reserved for locally trained players. Failing to meet those requirements effectively reduces the number of senior players a club can register.
Villa therefore submitted a 23-man group.
Johan Manzambi included despite injury
One particularly significant inclusion is Manzambi.
The £59.5m summer signing has yet to make his competitive Villa debut because of a knee problem but is registered for the Champions League.
That creates the possibility of his first appearance arriving in Europe.
Manzambi returned to group training last week and Emery subsequently suggested the midfielder could potentially be available either against Club Brugge or Nottingham Forest.
Our latest Johan Manzambi injury update explains where his recovery currently stands.
UEFA have already labelled Manzambi Villa’s big summer signing after he was named Europa League Revelation of the Season during Freiburg’s run to last season’s final.
His eventual debut will therefore carry considerable interest.
Can Aston Villa add players during the Champions League?
Villa cannot simply add another senior player to List A during the league phase.
UEFA’s registration deadline passed on 2 September and subsequent senior signings cannot be registered for these eight fixtures.
List B operates differently.
Eligible younger players can be registered throughout the competition, with UEFA allowing clubs to submit List B changes until 23:59 CET on the day before a match.
That distinction could become relevant to some of Villa’s academy players as the competition develops.
There is then another opportunity to alter registrations before the knockout phase.
That is why Emery has already suggested Harwood-Bellis could enter his European squad later in the season.
Aston Villa begin Champions League campaign in Bruges
Villa enter the league phase as reigning Europa League champions and currently sit 17th in UEFA’s coefficient ranking.
Their eight-match schedule begins at Club Brugge before fixtures against some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Supporters can see every opponent, date and venue in our complete Aston Villa Champions League fixture schedule.
For now, Emery has his 23-man senior group.
The first task is making it count in Belgium.
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