Aston Villa Head coach Unai Emery has admitted that Jadon Sancho may have a long-term future at the club despite limited game time in the Midlands this season.

England international – on loan from Manchester United – Has struggled to find his best form since returning to the Premier League from Borussia Dortmund.

So far, he has not been able to find a place at the Red Devils, who he joined in 2021 for £73 million. In the five years since that mega-money deal, he has spent three seasons on loan, one at Dortmund, another at Chelsea and Villa in 2025-26.

The 25-year-old has scored 14 runs Premier League 23 appearances for the Villans this term and in all competitions.

But Villa Park fans are still not convinced by the winger, although his manager apparently disagrees.

Ahead of Wednesday evening’s home match against Brighton, Emery opened up about Sancho’s long-term future at the Villans, suggesting he could become an integral part of the squad.

He said: “He’s a great player. Hopefully he’ll add to our formation like he’s been doing.

“Of course, he will need another contract. Will he be here? It could be because if he is playing his best football we want him. But if he is playing his good football then maybe another team will want him.

“This is football. Every match, next match, this month, everything is very important for every player.”

Villa ‘enjoying the process’

After a shaky start to the campaign, Villa have completely turned their season around, and have been touted as potential title challengers to Arsenal and Manchester City in recent months.

Their form has dipped slightly since then, but they sit third, nine points behind the Gunners and just three behind Pep Guardiola’s City side.

While realistic expectations are beginning to settle among the Villa faithful, Emery claims his team are simply enjoying the process of competing at the highest level.

He added: “We’re not thinking about the end of the season. We’re thinking about now. We can’t talk about how we were in September. We’re enjoying the process, we’re competing.

“We feel comfortable with how our season is going. Up and down at times, but more than down.

“Now we have two defeats at home and we can understand how this can happen.

“Tomorrow we have a new challenge, at home at Villa Park (against Brighton), to try to get our full energy, our full will and our focus to prepare for the game and compete against a very good team.

“And to compete with our supporters at Villa Park, which is always very special for us to play there.”

Villa praise warranted

The club has rightly earned praise for their competitiveness in both England’s top flight and Europe over the last few seasons.

Profits and sustainability rules prevent them from competing with the ‘Big 6’ for huge transfers, but Villa continue to prove they can perform against any side on the continent, and have their sights set firmly on the game’s top prizes.