Aston Villa's 10 highest earners now ranked from 'underpaid' to 'waste of money' | OneFootball

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It has been an impressive turn to form for Aston Villa since Unai Emery came in as manager back in October 2022.

When Steve Gerrard was sacked, Villa were in the bottom half of the Premier League table and seemingly on a downward trajectory. Emery's arrival changed the club's fortunes. In his 25 league games, he amassed 46 points, the 6th highest in the league over this period. His efforts were enough to help Villa make their way into the UEFA Conference League. It became clear that the Spaniard was the right man to get the most out of his talented squad.

Speaking of the squad, such talent comes at a hefty price and there are some serious earners in that Aston Villa squad. With some players earning north of £120k-per-week, it should come as no surprise that Emery has managed to get a tune out of his players.

That being said, money doesn't guarantee performances and some of these players aren't living up to what they are getting paid. Here, we will rank the top 10 earners at Aston Villa based on the figures collected by the experts at Sportrac. We will rank the players by placing them into five different categories to decide whether they have been good value for money or not.

6 Aston Villa's top ten earners

With three players earning around £7.8m-per-year, Boubacar Kamara, Clement Lenglet and Youri Tielemans lead the way for The Villans in terms of highest earners at the club. With everyone in the top ten earning in excess of six figures weekly, it shows that the owners are backing the manager as they re-enter the landscape of European football this season.

Conspicuous by his absence in the top 10 is Ollie Watkins. The figurehead has been an integral part of Villa's attack since he arrived at the club, yet falls behind many teammates who have failed to make a similar impact.

5 Waste of money - Clement Lenglet

The French Defender has yet to make a single appearance in the Premier League since joining on loan from Barcelona. However, with such a high salary, Lenglet comes in as the joint highest paid player at the club.

Injuries have certainly not helped the former La Liga winner, however his performances for Tottenham last season were hardly that of someone who commands such a high salary. With a Whoscored rating of just 6.55 in the Premier League last season, Lenglet ranked as one of Spurs' worst performers and will now be expected to help fill the void left by Tyrone Mings' injury.

These are big shoes to fill for a player whose parent club have been desperately seeking to offload in recent years.

4 Overpaid - Lucas Digne, Leon Bailey, John McGinn, Diego Carlos, Youri Tielemans

Some of these names may feel hard done by considering some of their contributions haven't been bad at all.

Lucas Digne joined the club with a wealth of experience at clubs like PSG and Barcelona. Having impressed at Everton, Digne joined Villa for £25m. He was their first choice left back up until Alex Moreno arrived last January. While it seems harsh to put the Frenchman here, he has seemingly been relegated to being the back-up left back whilst also making a substantial £120k-per-week. If you're earning this amount but are not guaranteed to start every week, you'd have to say you're overpaid.

Leon Bailey and Diego Carlos may also feel slighted being ranked this poorly. But with both players earning £100k-per-week, it's tough to argue. In the latter's case, injuries have not helped him. It is not his fault that he received such a terrible one so early on in his Villa tenure. However, when you put a player on those high wages, you don't expect him to then miss 213 days with injury immediately after.

With Bailey, his 10 goals in 63 appearances leave a lot to be desired for a player who had so much promise when he joined the club. Again, injuries haven't helped the winger, who at times has looked electric. He still has the backing of his manager who said that the Jamaican "was amazing" in the side's 4-0 win over Everton earlier this season.

There is clearly still a chance that these two can further prove their worth, and they could easily make their way out of this category.

Youri Tielemans, meanwhile, may feel he's being judged a little too soon, but the fact of the matter is that he's done little more than make up the numbers since coming in on a free transfer during the summer, despite his pedigree and proven track record in the Premier League.

As well as being used exclusively as a substitute in the top flight, he was part of the Villa side that lost to Everton in the EFL Cup and was given a miserly rating of 5.14 by Whoscored. Moaning about your game-time nly o a few months into the season really isn't a great look either - at the moment it feels as though Tielemans is on track to become a pretty costly disappointment for Villa, especially considering his status as the club's second-top earner.

3 What they deserve - Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn

John McGinn's ability level can split opinion at times, but there's no doubt his willingness to fight for the cause. It speaks volumes that every Villa manager he's played under has utilised the midfielder in an integral capacity, and he's started every game for the Villans so far this season.

A reliable runner who chips in with goals and assists, its hard to argue with McGinn taking home a decent pay cheque, even if £120k per-week may be on the flattering side.

Meanwhile, in the last year, Kamara has ranked in the 78th and 79th percentile of all midfielders in tackles and blocks, according to FBRef. He plays a crucial role in offering security in Emery's midfield and seems to be deserving of his salary.

2 Value for money - Moussa Diaby and Tyrone Mings

In these two men, you have players who are at very different stage of their Aston Villa careers.

Tyrone Mings has had a whirlwind time at the club since arriving in 2019. The lowest point arguably being when Steven Gerrard stripped him of his captaincy. However, he has been a mainstay in the team for most of his time at Villa Park. Having managed 166 appearances over the last four years, it is likely that only the injury he sustained in the first game of the season is preventing him from reaching a double century of games within the next calendar year.

Meanwhile. Moussa Diaby is in the early stages of his Aston Villa career having joined from Bayer Leverkusen in 2023 for a club record fee. With such a fee comes pressure but it's so far so good for the Frenchman, having managed five goal contributions in his opening seven league fixtures.

More of the same and he will be well on his way to creating a strong legacy in the Midlands.

1 Underpaid - Emiliano Martinez

He won the World Cup and the Golden Glove at the same tournament. What more could you ask for?

Argentina's no.1 cemented himself as one of the top goalkeepers in the world at the 2022 World Cup and showed that he is capable of competing at the highest level of European football. He has kept 41 clean sheets in 116 games for the club. His save percentage last season of 74.2% last season ranked him in the top 5 of the league.

Villa found a gem in Martinez, and he has repaid them with his performances. He is the only one in the squad who is capable of making his £120k-per-week salary look like an absolute bargain.