“His time is coming,” said Unai Emery after leaving Taylor Harwood-Bellis out of Aston Villa's Champions League squad. The defender joined Villa from Southampton for £30m and has still not featured since arriving, but Emery's message was that the omission was about balance, not a dead end. He is expected to make his debut against Coventry in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
Emery's squad call
Villa can name 23 players in Europe, and Emery said the final decision came from the make-up of the group. He pointed to the timing of the move, the need to balance the squad and the fact that Taylor arrived as the last one.
"We needed to take off someone, and it was Taylor," Emery said. "Taylor will be here for a long time, and hopefully, we will have the opportunity to play in Europe with us, in January maybe, and the next few years."
That is a firm enough indication that Harwood-Bellis has not been pushed aside. The immediate issue is simply where he fits right now, with Emery already talking up the chance of a debut in the cup rather than in Europe.
Villa's defensive squeeze
The timing also lines up with Villa's defensive problems. Ezri Konsa is part of the available options, Pau Torres will be out for three weeks, and Ian Maatsen has made three league appearances. Emery also said Victor Lindelof has started three league games.
Villa lost four of their last five matches, conceded 22 shots against Nottingham Forest in Saturday's defeat and won just 35.3% of their tackles. That is the kind of spell that puts more weight on squad choices, especially when a £30m signing is still waiting for his first outing.
Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie with Coventry now feels like the obvious place for Harwood-Bellis to get moving. Emery has left the door open, and the first chance to walk through it comes against Coventry.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
