Emi Buendía believes Aston Villa’s new generation of young signings have the potential to become “huge players” as Unai Emery begins rebuilding his Europa League-winning side.
Villa underwent major change during the summer, losing several established members of last season’s team while bringing in a younger group including Ibrahim Mbaye, Johan Manzambi and Alejandro Garnacho.
Buendía is now one of the senior figures charged with helping those arrivals settle into Emery’s demanding system.
Speaking before tonight’s Champions League opener against Club Brugge, the Argentine stressed that Villa’s established structure should make that transition easier despite the scale of the turnover.
The comments follow Emery’s admission that Villa are entering a new and different chapter after their summer overhaul.
Buendia backs Aston Villa’s new generation
Buendía acknowledged that losing long-standing teammates had not been easy, but his focus has already shifted towards what Villa’s new group can become.
He described several of the arrivals as players with significant potential and said they could become “huge players in the future” for the club.
That is particularly relevant given Villa’s recruitment strategy.
Mbaye arrived from Paris Saint-Germain for £47million at just 18, while Manzambi was another major investment in a player still only 20.
Both are included in Villa’s 2026/27 Champions League squad, although Manzambi will miss tonight’s game as he completes his recovery from a knee problem.
Garnacho, meanwhile, already possesses considerably more senior experience but remains only 22.
The challenge for Emery is converting potential into an effective team quickly.
Villa have taken only one point from their opening three Premier League games and are still searching for their first league goal of the season.
Buendía nevertheless believes the manager’s established philosophy provides the platform for new players to adapt.
Villa have effectively rebuilt the spine of the team in a single summer, something we examined during our analysis of Aston Villa’s extraordinary squad transformation.
Now the responsibility falls partly on survivors such as Buendía, John McGinn and Tyrone Mings to carry the standards of the previous side into the new one.
Tonight in Bruges will provide the first Champions League indication of how quickly that process is working.
