By Birmingham Live Readers,Thomas Fair

Copyright birminghammail

Aston Villa transfer supremo Monchi has left the club after two years, throwing up question marks on the direction of the team in the future – and some fans in the Birmingham Live comments section say that they want to see some clarity from owners urgently. Monchi, as President of Football Operations, oversaw five transfer windows for Villa since joining in June 2023. The club have faced a dual threat of financial restrictions from both the Premier League and UEFA during that time, limiting spending and forcing some sales that manager Unai Emery may have rather not made. The jury is out on the effectiveness of Monchi’s time at Villa, with former striker Stan Collymore saying that only three players have been “resounding successes”, pointing to Pau Torres, Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers. During Monchi’s first summer transfer window with Villa, he signed Moussa Diaby, Pau Torres, Youri Tielemans, Clement Lenglet (loan) and Nicolò Zaniolo (loan), before securing a deal for Morgan Rogers in the winter window. Joe Gauci and Kosta Nedeljkovic also arrived in January 2024. Last year, Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen, and Ross Barkley joined the club, while Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling-Junior were signed as part of the deal that saw Douglas Luiz move to Juventus. Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia then joined on permanent deals at the start of this year, followed by loan signings of Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio, and Axel Disasi. In this summer’s window, Villa added Evann Guessand, Marco Bizot, and Victor Lindelöf, while also bringing in Harvey Elliott (on loan with an obligation to buy) and Jadon Sancho (on loan). Some fans don’t look back on Monchi’s time fondly. Reader Doj1968 says: “Good riddance, he is great at signing sub-standard players. Emery will be next unless we get are FAR FAR BETTER Monchi replacement. Our recruitment has been less than adequate.” Commenter OREILLY1970 writes: “The fact is, apart from probably 2 players, we have spent over 200 million on players that are not good enough – it’s that simple. Who is to blame for that, only those at the club know. If he is sacked, he deserves it. If he has left, then is that worrying as what is the reason – was he not being listened to?” Therealwaysbeanengland adds: “Not sure what impact Unai Emery has in deciding which players come in, but other than a couple of the signings since being here, most haven’t had the desired impact of improving the team.” Chosen in 1957 says: “Well NSWE must have someone lined up to take Monchi’s place. That new executive MUST have previous experience of working effectively within the Premier League. We need a person who knows exactly how the system works and how the financial restrictions that apply can be overcome, especially in the transfer market. “As we also saw with demise of Chris Heck the Premier League is a different ball game to anything else in the world of football. and that lack of knowledge is a major factor that simply has to be addressed by our owners.” MartinoAVFC10 thinks that circumstances have limited Villa, rather than Monchi: “These are worrying signs. Regardless of our signings, we have been forced to look for players well under what we would prefer due to financial restrictions. This is another shove in the direction of keeping clubs in check when they start to enter the realm of the ‘big 6’ we have been suffocated by restrictions. “You can only buy when these restrictions allow you to. Pointing the finger at Monchi or Emery is a little unfair sometimes as they have got their hands tied by PSR and now UEFA. Sad times when clubs aren’t allowed to challenge. Takes away all the competitiveness of the game and keeps failing clubs allowed to buy players.” Metalmicky says: “Bit worrying, all this? Is there a problem with our owners all of a sudden?” Devon Villain adds: “No reason or explanation? Gives fuel to the suspicion of all not being well behind the scenes.” Have your say! How would you rate Monchi’s time at Aston Villa? What must come next? Comment below, and join in on the conversation .