Unai Emery spells out Aston Villa reality amid Emi Martinez transfer speculation and £39m deal

Unai Emery insists Aston Villa are not contenders for a top-seven place this season – but he remains excited by the challenge of upsetting those with bigger budgets.

Villa kick-off their campaign against Newcastle at lunchtime approaching the end of a transfer window which has been hamstrung by their need to satisfy financial fair play rules.

Homegrown Jacob Ramsey is set to complete a £39m switch to the Toon, while Leon Bailey will play no part today as he nears an exit. And while Villa are under no pressure to sanction further sales, there appears little chance of a big-money arrival before the window closes on September 1.

Emery, however, remains optimistic about the campaign ahead and admits their ambition is to secure their spot on the continental stage again next season - despite several rivals having far greater resources.

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"We are starting more or less like when I arrived here. We're not contenders to be in the top seven for this reason,” he said. "Of course we have the capacity to build a strong team but not with the same budget.

“We have to be competitive with our players and keep working hard as well as staying motivated but we're not contenders to be in the top seven."

Villa would be willing to splash the cash were it not for UEFA’s sustainability regulations. The governing body last month fined the club £9.5m for breaching their squad cost ratio rules and that punishment could climb significantly unless they remain compliant for the next three seasons.

But Emery added: “I’m not frustrated - I accept the rules and how we are competing, also how we are being ambitious to compete with the better teams in the Premier League and in Europe. I’m motivated and excited, not frustrated and I accept it always in how we’re competing.”

Emi Martinez serves a one-game suspension today, meaning a debut for new signing Marco Bizot. But after a summer of speculation around the Argentina goalkeeper’s future Emery appeared to ease fears of him moving on.

“I am so, so happy with him,” he added. “In the transfer window there is the possibility to leave but if he is staying here, like at the moment, I’m so, so happy with his commitment and professionalism. He’s a leader in the dressing room and he's very good for us. He’s happy here, he wants to fight for us.”

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