Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia have been excluded from Aston Villa’s Champions League squad. Malen and Garcia were among five new arrivals at Villa Park in the winter transfer window, alongside Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi. But Unai Emery's men can only register three of them ahead of Villa’s round of 16 clash next month. Villa’s boss held discussions with the pair yesterday to tell them of his decision. It will not come as a suprise to right-back Garcia - Villa do have cover in that position and he is a junior professional.
But Malen, who appeared in the final last season for Borussia Dortmund, will feel aggrieved to miss out. That means Rashford, Disasi and Asensio have been included, with Emery conceding he was forced into difficult conversations. “We can only register three changes. Even though we lost one player more in the list because Jaden was a club-trained player. We lost the opportunity to have one more," the Spaniard said.
“We changed five players. We can only register three. The decision we had to take yesterday was Andres Garcia and Donyell Malen. It wasn’t a good decision I had to take. But I spoke with them to tell them the decision. I argued my decision with them.”. Forward Malen and right-back Garcia, signed from Borussia Dortmund and Levante respectively, will not be able to be selected for Champions League matchday squads. Villa finished eighth in the league phase of the competition, guaranteeing their place in the last 16.
They will face one of Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta, Sporting CP or Club Brugge, once the play-offs are held later this month. The exclusion of Malen and Garcia does mean that Rashford, signed on loan from Manchester United, has made the cut. The attacker endured a difficult final few months at United having stated his desire to leave Old Trafford. And Emery is relishing the chance to work with the England star.
“I’m very happy with the transfer window we did and I’m very happy with him. The conversation I had with him was a very normal conversation between a player and a coach, speaking about football," the Villa boss added. “The only thing I want from him is the best football. As a person, we’re introducing him into the dressing room as one player more helping us. His capacity and potential is still being a huge potential to exploit.
"I don’t want to know the reason why he’s leaving from Manchester, but I’m very happy keeping him here. I’m very happy to try and exploit and to help him to recover his performances individually and collectively. My challenge with him is a huge challenge. His challenge with us is a very exciting challenge.”. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
