Emery has his first scalp on behalf of Manchester United. He wants more reinforcements in January, Torres could head to Aston Villa

Unai Emery scored a valuable scalp in the first match, when his charges managed to beat Manchester United 3-1. On paper, a very strong Aston Villa team, built by Steven Gerrard in the summer, is looking for better times under the Spanish coach. In addition, the fans should see another big signing.

Emery has once again confirmed that he is good at Manchester United, as although his statistics against the Red Devils are 3 wins, 3 draws and 4 defeats, we have to take into account that he has always faced this club with a weaker team.

His biggest win came against Manchester United last year in the Europa League final, when Villarreal won the trophy after David de Gea missed the penalty shootout.

Since that final, Manchester United have then beaten Villarreal twice in the Champions League group stage. Now Emery was on the Aston Villa bench against the Red Devils for the tenth time, and this time he was the one who enjoyed the victory, moving his new club, which was hovering around the relegation zone, up.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa have the most valuable squad in the Premier League after the top 6 as the management decided to make a big strengthening. The aforementioned Gerrard, however, couldn’t steer this paper-strong team to prove its quality on the pitch. It must be added that he was also hampered by a large squad.

However, the Spanish coach, who already has a number of titles in his collection, seems to be the ideal candidate for the post of head coach of the traditional English team, which now has big ambitions. That is why speculation about possible reinforcements began immediately. One of them should be Pau Torres, whom Emery liked during his last stint in La Liga.

The highly-rated Spanish stopper is practically a stable member of the national team’s starting line-up at the age of 25, having played all of this year’s UEFA Nations League matches, with the exception of two games against the Czech Republic, in which he sat on the bench.

Torres has a contract with Villarreal until 2024, which according to journalist Dean Jones includes a buyout clause of £52 million, which is certainly an acceptable sum for Aston Villa.

Defender Diego Carlos arrived at Villa Park from Sevilla in the summer and was expected to form a stopper duo with Tyrone Mings. Also in the squad are Ezri Konsa, Jan Bednarek and Calum Chambers. The centre of defence in particular is well manned by Aston Villa in my opinion.

Therefore, I would personally see other positions to strengthen, such as bringing in an offensive midfielder or another winger. However, it is true that both Carlos and Mings are already 29 years old and if Emery wants to play more constructively, then Torres is a great start for future changes.

Source: Twitter, Dean Jones, Transfermarkt