Aston Villa face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday, but Unai Emery will be without three first-team players through injury or transfer. The absence of Morgan Rogers, Amadou Onana and Lucas Digne underscores a summer of upheaval at Villa Park that has already seen John McGinn and Youri Tielemans leave for new clubs.
Why three Villa stars won’t play against PSG
Morgan Rogers, who scored in the Europa League final against Freiburg and was named player of the tournament, has joined Chelsea for a British-record £117 million. Amadou Onana, a substitute in Istanbul, is injured, while Lucas Digne completed a move to PSG on Sunday. The departures leave Emery with a reshaped squad for the Super Cup, a competition he has lost in three previous finals.
Villa’s financial restructuring has been driven by Rogers’ sale, which should resolve their squad cost control issues after UEFA imposed a €22.5 million fine, two-thirds of it suspended. Yet the sporting side remains unsettled. A midfield trio of McGinn, a potential new signing and Onana could be ruled out, while Boubacar Kamara, absent since January, is back in contention.
Emery’s Super Cup curse and PSG’s hunger
Emery has lost his last three Super Cup finals, twice with Sevilla and once with Villarreal, and now faces a PSG side that has won the Champions League in each of the past two seasons. Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid hold the record with five Super Cup wins, but Emery insists the trophy still matters. “A trophy is something that can give us a special moment,” he said. “To play for trophies is, as a professional, our objective.”
PSG midfielder Vitinha, who has won four Ligue 1 titles, dismissed suggestions the club treat the match as a friendly, though he admitted their pre-season was cut short. Villa, meanwhile, arrive in Salzburg with 6,000 supporters, a reminder that even a pre-season trophy can carry symbolic weight.
The Villa reshuffle and what comes next
The Super Cup offers a rare chance to test a squad in flux. João Gomes has arrived from Wolves, while João Palhinha remains a target, and Kamara’s return adds depth. Yet the midfield picture is unclear: McGinn may lift the trophy without playing, while Onana’s absence leaves a void.
Villa’s summer has mirrored Emery’s reputation for constant adaptation. The club’s financial penalties and the sales of Tielemans and Rogers have forced a rebuild, but the Europa League triumph showed their capacity to upset the established order. PSG, however, are the established order now.
Emery’s focus is clear: break his Super Cup losing streak. Whether the trophy matters beyond prestige is debatable, but for a manager who has made a career of chasing silverware, it is another chance to prove his side’s progress.
Villa’s challenge is to show that their summer changes have not diluted their ambition. PSG, meanwhile, will arrive as favourites, but football’s quirks mean even the most predictable contests can deliver surprises.
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