Villa boss Emery explains sending Iling Jr to Bologna

Posted Tuesday, October 22, 2024 by Tribalfootball.com

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has spoken about loaned out star Samuel Illing Jr.

The attacker has not been given the first team chances he sought at Villa so far in his career.

However, he is so far impression during a loan spell at Italian side Bologna, who Villa play in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Emery told reporters: "He is a young player and he needed a plan where he could get more minutes playing at a high level.

"For him, it is an interesting team to try and get him the minutes he needs and, of course, getting confidence playing at that level, facing the best teams in Italy and here in Europe.

"We are of course following him, and trying to use the experience he is having now with Bologna to do with us in the future."

And on making it to two years in charge at Villa, he added: "The most important is, for us, how we are increasing our demands, and getting the opportunities we are more or less facing each year.

"Two years ago, we avoided the risk to lose the Premier League, and even we had time to get a position in the Conference League. Of course, it was an amazing first seven months we had here. Last year, continuing our process, we increased a lot our demands, getting Champions League, and the challenge is to get better every day.

"Can we keep the same level as now and keep it for a long time? And this is the most difficult, when you are achieving your objectives at a high level, how you can be demanding and successful working hard to keep it.

"This is the idea I have now. The club is in the same way, the players are with the same message I am giving you here. The only word I am repeating, when I arrived here last year and now, is that I don’t want to waste my time here, and that is the message for everybody here. You can’t waste your time here.

"You are professional, but you can’t get professionally your best objective individually and not collectively. My objective here individually is to try and keep the same level we have now, in the Champions League, and then add something more like to be a contender for a trophy."