Speaking exclusively with BoyleSports, former Aston Villa Premier League player defender Alan Hutton has given his thoughts on his former club's quest to return to the Champions League next season.
Hutton has also given his thoughts on the importance of Rogers and Martinez to the club and whether they can hold on to their top talents while also suggesting a return of Grealish to the club could be perfect.
Champions League Still Alive For Villa
It's been a hard one to take for Aston Villa. I think it was all there for them in terms of what they had achieved. But I think you still have to say it's been a good season if they could finish in the top five, I think they would still take that.
The biggest disappointment for me was the semi-final against Crystal Palace. There was a huge opportunity there to get to a final. It's not been done in a long time since obviously, I was at the club against Arsenal and that didn't go too well.
But I feel that this was a huge opportunity for them to go and get silverware and that's the disappointing bit. In terms of the Champions League, I thought they were outstanding.
They came up against a team that was very good, and they were unlucky towards the end of it. But to achieve what they've done so far, I think has been a massive tick in the box. But they need to go and finish it now.
They need to go and get those Champions League spots again. So that's the key for them this season, to have a good season.
Aston Villa Top-4 Finish - 16/1
Selling Duran Was A “Mistake”
Selling Jhon Duran was a mistake, possibly, but I feel it was a difficult situation, I think, for the manager because Duran was doing well and he was pushing Ollie Watkins the whole way, but I think they used to bump heads quite a lot at the time because Duran felt that he should be starting week in, week out, and maybe the manager didn't quite see that.
Instinctively his goal-scoring was excellent, but the manager wanted more out of him in terms of his performance over the 90 minutes and he was struggling with that side of it a little bit.
If a player comes to you, even though was only still young and he is going to develop and become better, if he's desperate to move because he wants to play, it's difficult to hold on to someone like that. They've done what they've had to do. They've allowed them to go.
I think the recruitment in January has been absolutely first-class, so it's not all bad. But if you have a crystal ball and look back at it, he could have been a difference-maker.
Rashford Over Asensio: Villa's Key to European Glory
I’d love to see both Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio sign. I mean, that's what I would like to see, but on the money side of it, you're probably looking at Rashford and thinking you'd maybe lean towards him with age.
Asensio is 29. I'd maybe lean towards Rashford if I could only have one because I think since he's come into the side, he's playing with a smile on his face, he looks happy, he's enjoying his football again, he's scoring goals, he's assisting.
So to build on that for next season I think would be excellent and that's Villa moving forward now. I think if they want to go and challenge for the European spots every season, they need quality players like Rashford within the squad.
"Villa's Rising Star Morgan Rogers
Should Aston Villa fans be nervous about the future of Morgan Rogers? Yeah, absolutely. I think that's a problem. I think he's been outstanding since he's come to the club.
A lot of people probably wouldn't have expected it to happen this quickly, but he's just gone from strength to strength. I think he fits into the structure of the Villa squad really well. He understands what the manager's asking for him from him and he's really thriving.
Of course, if you don't hit those heights year after year and you've got players that want to play at the highest level, it's always going to be difficult. I think as a club, they'll know that they've got a talented player on their books. So it's all about reaching those levels and hopefully they can, and they build the team around players like that for the future.
Rogers Ready to Steal Tuchel’s England Show
Should Morgan Rogers be the star of Thomas Tuchel’s England team? Yeah, I'd love to see it. But it's one of those things where you look at the England squad and they don't always pick the players that are on top form to come in and play the game.
So I think if he continues to do what he's doing, shining for Aston Villa, scoring goals, assisting, being a big part of everything that they do, then Thomas Tuchel will obviously have him involved in the squad, then it's up to him to go and show him that he's capable of dealing with the pressure of playing with England and doing the same things as he's doing for Villa because they've got so much talent within the squad.
I think that's the big thing that you have to deal with that you might be in and out but when you are in you have to produce the goods.
Is Emi Martinez Perfect For Chelsea?
Emi Martinez is some character, I know that for sure. He's not bothered with everything that goes on outside when the fans are giving him a little bit of abuse or whatever. I think he actually thrives off it, to be honest.
What I would say if Chelsea are interested, is it would take a mega amount of money to get him out. He's just signed a new contract so it's not going to be cheap.
But again, I think it all hinges on where Aston Villa are at. All these guys want to play at the top level, they want to play in the Champions League and that's what Villa are thriving for. If they can do that then of course all these guys will want to stay in and build something special.
But I think when you've got top talented players and you maybe don't get there, there's going to be teams swarming around but the fee is going to have to be massive I would say.
Grealish Villa Return?
As a player at the time, I was never really upset with it or annoyed when Jack Grealish left. I mean, I understand from a fan's point of view, but you need to remember this is a boy who's come through the youth academy, he's done extremely well at the club, single-handedly got them promotion and then moved on for 100 million that went back into the club.
It's not like he left on a free or he left for 10 million or something like that. They got a huge chunk of money for him. Fans were upset, but if he was to come back in the near future and produce what he would have seen before he had left, then I think he would win all those fans and supporters over.
At the end of the day, that's his club, so I think most would be happy to see him back.
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