Unai Emery ready to green-light departure of Aston Villa star | OneFootball

Unai Emery is set to green-light the departure of Diego Carlos from Aston Villa in January, according to reports.

The Brazilian centre-back joined Villa from Sevilla in the summer of 2022 but was quickly derailed by an Achilles injury.

Carlos has since struggled to establish himself as a regular starter and so far this season, has played just 468 minutes in the Premier League.

The 31-year-old currently finds himself behind Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres in Emery’s side, while Tyrone Mings’ return to fitness is sure to make minutes even harder to come by.

According to a report from Football Insider, Emery is now ready to part ways with Carlos as soon as January.

“Carlos is an issue, Konsa back at centre back a must,” former Aston Villa striker Stan Collymore said following a poor performance from Carlos in a 2-2 draw away at Ipswich Town at the end of September.

Football Insider’s report also states Villa have already begun sounding out new centre-back targets, with the sale of Carlos seen as vital in freeing up funds.

Diego Carlos heading for Villa exit but could get chance this weekend

Diego Carlos is heading for the Villa Park exit door. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

All of that said, Carlos will hope to get a rare start this weekend when Villa host Crystal Palace.

Konsa returned from international duty early after sustaining a hip injury in England’s 3-0 win over Greece.

“He’s been assessed by the medical team. The scan results are back and now he’ll go back to Villa this afternoon,” said interim boss Lee Carsley ahead of the 5-0 win against Ireland.

Mings is yet to play in the Premier League since returning from injury, so Emery may well see Carlos as the safer, sharper option — especially with Villa enduring a run of four consecutive defeats prior to the international break.

Villa have slipped to ninth but remain just a single point behind Chelsea in third in what is a terribly close Premier League table.