It's all going on at Aston Villa during the summer transfer window.

With Youri Tielemans' time in the Midlands at its end after he completed a £35m transfer to Manchester United, the decision-makers have acted quickly to agree a £35m deal with Wolves for Joao Gomes, who is slated to complete his medical on Friday.

Still, supporters are somewhat concerned. Amadou Onana has suffered an ACL injury with Belgium at the World Cup, and Tielemans was the beating life-force of this title-challenging Villa side.

Why Aston Villa plan to replace Tielemans with Gomes

Tielemans is 29 years old, and while he has been a mainstay in the middle for Aston Villa, it's hard to argue that they have not received bang for their buck, selling him for £35m after several successful years.

But replacing him won't be easy. Tielemans, Belgium captain, has a rare ability to manage all the myriad parts of the midfield game. He can score sublime goals and pick out teammates with smooth surgical passing. He is also an accomplished defender, excellent at winning back the ball. He also showed last term that he has the athleticism to cover plenty of ground, winning 60% of his duels.

In Gomes, perhaps Aston Villa have landed a successor, a contrasting profile, but an all-action addition nonetheless, someone who will add a dimension to Emery's system and keep it sailing forward.

The ten-cap Brazil international, after all, has shown himself to have all the tools a midfielder needs to thrive in the Premier League, and though a potential deal broke down earlier this summer, Atletico Madrid's vested interet confirms that he has what it takes to thrive out in the Champions League.

The 25-year-old doesn't have Tielemans' range of passing, but he is far more energetic, winning 6.5 duels and 3.1 tackles per game in the Premier League last year, also completing 64% of his dribbles, attempted far more frequently than Tielemans.

That's an interesting factor to consider. Gomes runs about far more, and thereby won't be the direct replacement that Emery needs. In this, Onana must not be forgotten. His physical presence will be missed for the lion's share of the 2026/27 campaign, but Emery and co have already identified the perfect replacement.

Aston Villa in talks to sign their next Onana

Aston Villa have a formidable midfielder in Onana, Tielemans' international teammate and a player with "loads of confidence" and "loads of qualities", according to Tielemans.

However, Aston Villa could pull off a blinder by replacing him with Joao Palhinha, whose loan spell with Tottenham has concluded - and Bayern Munich want to ship him on again, with a fee of around €25m (£21m) mooted.

As per Fabrizio Romano, "Palhinha is a name appreciated by Aston Villa" this summer, with a possible move "discussed between the management and the coach" at Villa Park. He continued to say, "But at the moment still no official bid or official negotiation for Palhinha, Bayern owning the players rights."

Palhinha is 30 years old, but he is one of the toughest-tackling midfielders of the modern Premier League age, someone who brings a distinctive set of skills to the table. He is a "defensive monster", according to analyst Marcus Bring.

By signing both Onana and Gomes, Aston Villa are reinforcing their engine room with premium steel, creating the ultimate structural base from which Emery's defence will be supported and the attackers will have more security to strut their stuff in front of goal.

It's doubly important now that Onana's sidelined. The 24-year-old won 1.9 tackles per game in the Premier League last season, and he also won 64% of his ground battles.

That is an impressive degree of accuracy in the duel, and while the deep-sitting midfielder might be limited in his passing, he keeps it crisp, completing 87% of his attempts.

Defending and winning the ball might be Palhinha's forte, but he has demonstrable experience producing showreel moments in attack. His overhead kick against Bournemouth in January was one of the standout moments of the season.

Palhinha would be the ultimate replacement, and given that Villa are trying to strike a loan deal, he would be a shrewd one too. The truth is that Onana is not as good as Palhinha; he has not hit the same levels in the Premier League yet.

The Portugal international is no spring chicken, but he would provide Emery's side with the instant relief that they need due to all the chop-and-change going on in the Midlands right now.