Aston Villa’s transfer remit over the past few windows has been pretty clear – strengthen the playing squad at Unai Emery’s disposal as the club engages with regularly playing in Europe.

Last season saw the Villans reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Conference League, balancing their Premier League commitments with a first foray into European action for 12 years.

Villa passed the test with flying colours. They fell short of their bid to follow in West Ham’s trophy-winning footsteps but arguably secured an ever bigger prize – direct qualification into this season’s Champions League with a fourth-place Premier League finish.

Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen, Jaden Philogene and Ross Barkley were signed to further bolster Villa’s options and for the most part they’ve done well – Onana in particular looks like an exciting capture despite costing a total package of £50m.

There were, however, no incomings at centre-back despite strong speculation that Diego Carlos could be leaving the club.

Fulham were strongly linked with the 31-year-old, signed from Sevilla in May 2022 for £26m, but no deal ever came to fruition as the Cottagers ended up signing Joachim Andersen from Crystal Palace instead.

Football Insider allege that Villa could yet sanction an exit for Carlos in the January transfer window, with Emery said to be less than impressed by what he’s seen from the Brazilian.