Emery on Aston Villa striker’s future and the possibility of more signings following deals for duo

Unai Emery has challenged Tammy Abraham to rediscover his best form after confirming the Aston Villa striker is set to remain at the club.

Villa currently have just one fit senior striker in Nicolas Jackson, with young forward Kadan Madjo sidelined through injury.

Despite that, Abraham would have been allowed to depart this summer should he have wished.

And Emery says Abraham will have to meet his high standards if he is to play an important role for Villa this season.

“He didn’t perform like we wanted last year,” Emery said after Villa’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.

“Now we have one striker, Jackson, we are very happy with him. We have Madjo, but he is injured and Tammy Abraham’s decision is to stay here.

“We opened the door for him but he’s decided to stay here with us. I am going to be very demanding with him to add his qualities with us.”

Villa are also expected to complete deals for Ibrahim Mbaye and Taylor Harwood-Bellis before the transfer window closes, but Emery does not anticipate further additions after that.

“I am not expecting more,” he said.

“But this year, I think everything we were preparing for, the changes we did, I think we replaced the players as we planned.”