Unai Emery doubling down on tried and trusted Aston Villa players is a sign of focus on here and now

Matty Cash was the latest long-standing Aston Villa player and key Unai Emery trustee to sign a new contract.

In doing so, Cash followed Lucas Digne, Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara in recently agreeing extensions and symbolising Emery’s desire to win in the here and now.

At 28, Cash is in the peak of his career. The Athletic revealed the agreement was in place last week, with the right-back finalising his stay until 2029, with an option of a further year.

Aside from Kamara, other extensions have been for players 30 years old or older. John McGinn, aged 31, will soon be added to this list when he pens a new contract beyond his current terms of 2027.

Other players’ present arrangements are, and may be, up for discussion. Youri Tielemans, 28, Pau Torres, 28, and even Ollie Watkins, 29, are three examples.

Morgan Rogers, 23, is at the opposite end of the scale owing to his age, and the incentive of a new contract, which runs until 2030, is to promote him financially in line with the club’s highest earners, rather than indicate he is part of long-term plans. Rogers has several Premier League admirers, and as The Athletic reported back in July, Villa wanted to open discussions, with a view to accelerating after the transfer window.

Cash’s extension is representative of Emery doubling down on those who have formed the cornerstones of his tenure. Villa’s recruitment attempted to identify competition at right-back, yet for myriad reasons, mostly due to profitability and sustainability constraints, they have often decided money was better spent elsewhere.

Cash had his detractors, who took an opposite view to Emery’s increasing faith in the Poland international. Not just because of performances, which continue to prove consistent and impactful, but because of Cash’s mentality and professionalism; two pre-requisite player traits for Emery and his intensive coaches.

The 28-year-old has a sauna in his home to aid recovery and has gone to considerable lengths to understand and solve muscle injury issues, which many close to him and the club believe he has now done.

“It is about performance and mentality. That’s the culture we want at Aston Villa,” said director of football operations Damian Vidagany following the announcement of Cash’s deal.

Digne is held up as a paragon of professionalism, sleeping at the training ground after late away matches to ensure sufficient rest and taking personal trainers with him on vacation. On Sunday against Manchester City, he played expertly with 10 stitches in his ankle, having been wounded by Tottenham Hotspur’s Kevin Danso a week before.

If you show loyalty and sacrifice to Emery, expect those same values to be reciprocated. He is a demanding, ruthless coach in one way, though equally a man who demonstrates steadfast devotion to those with him on the never-ending quest to maximise their footballing capacity. In his mind, continuing with the core of players who have already achieved immense success with him is how Villa build for the future.

“The stability of this magnificent group of players is a key asset,” Emery said last week.

Emery is a taskmaster but furnishes immense loyalty. This is echoed in the view of some players who have recently been in the changing room; Emery’s loyalty tends to lead to playing trusted players through bad runs of form, only changing course reluctantly. There was even a sense that the Spaniard felt he could try and rehabilitate Leon Bailey, provided he did not leave this summer, because of what he had previously offered.

Rising wages as a result of approving new contracts will only aggravate matters relating to UEFA Squad Cost Rules (SCR), which were a bane of senior figures’ lives over the summer. They were successful in lowering costs from above the 80 per cent mark of overall turnover being spent on salaries, though they remained above UEFA’s threshold of 70 per cent.

Villa will continue to box clever financially, but are beholden to Emery’s drive for improvement. He is the chief footballing decision-maker. When it appeared Digne would leave in June, Emery reiterated his desire for the France international to stay. The same was true with Cash and McGinn.

Emery’s remarkable transformation of Villa has been constructed on a strong spine of characters willing to be sculpted and pushed. Collectively, a mentality — a “demanding one” as Emery would say — has been created. 

These players, comprising Mings, Torres, Ezri Konsa, Cash, Digne, Kamara, McGinn and Watkins, know how he works and are in tune with his idiosyncrasies and exhaustive hours. They are accustomed to the heavy pre-seasons, the long training sessions, the rare days off, and the four pre-match analysis meetings that can last up to two hours combined.

This creates a unique bond between him and his squad, even if he is not the most personable coach away from the pitch.

Recent new contracts signal the trust entrenched between parties and the mentality forged. This was demonstrated in the 1-0 victory against City, where Villa had to lean upon their inherent resilience in the second half.

A tiring Cash remained aggressive in his one-on-one duels. McGinn pressed relentlessly, while Konsa, 28, organised the back line. Emery has encouraged Konsa’s communicative skills, with team-mates lately expressing how helpful the England international’s in-game leadership has been.

Only Everton have an older average squad this season than Villa. There is an admission from several within the club that they will need to refresh and rejuvenate the squad — some staff wanted that to happen quicker than it currently is — yet Emery wants to focus on the present.

When Villa do undergo significant surgery, it may only happen once results nosedive to such an extent that it becomes undeniable. Planning for the windows ahead, as opposed to the next one, is not something Emery has always been inclined to do.

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It is always better to agree new contracts when the mood and form on the pitch are healthy. It has not been lost on players, staff and agents that some discussions slowed after the miserable start.

Observers may view that period in retrospect, arguing that such downtrodden forecasts made about Villa’s squad were premature, but that feeling was shared by some quarters internally, who anticipated this would be a tough campaign.

That may yet materialise, but the upturn in league form — aided by the Europa League campaign kicking off, which was viewed by Emery as a key way of restoring confidence — has been acute. Victory against City meant they became the first top-flight side since Preston North End in 1936-37 to win four consecutive league matches following a winless five-game streak to start a campaign.

Emery admitted to a “negative” atmosphere, with a turbulent summer window and a deflating mood in the dressing room, who were disappointed when Jacob Ramsey left.

Many concerns have since been dispelled. They may return, but as Emery and senior figures have affirmed, by sticking with reliable lieutenants and working in the same structure and with the same mentality, success on the pitch will not be too far away. The intentions behind contract extensions are to ensure this continues.