The overriding sense inside Aston Villa is that if Unai Emery was capable of completely reshaping the club inside six months last season, leading them into Europe after quickly extinguishing relegation fears, then what might be feasible this campaign? Emery's fingerprints are everywhere you look, with the highly respected Monchi arriving as president of football operations, in effect a technical director, while he has appointed scouts and promoted Damian Vidagany, a right-hand man last season, to the role of director of football operations. Villa have made such impressive strides in a short space of time it is difficult to know what the realistic ceiling might be on the back of a full pre-season under Emery. Villa look particularly well stocked in central defence and central midfield but do not have as much competition for Ollie Watkins up front.
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