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Aston Villa have seen several big-name exits this summer and began the new campaign with a defeat, but Unai Emery has the ability to steady the situation and get the club moving forward again.

It has not been the kind of opening to the season Aston Villa would have been hoping for.

Only a few months after winning the Europa League trophy and sealing a top-four finish, Emery’s team were hammered 4-0 by Brighton and Hove Albion on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

To add to the frustration, the situation involving Ollie Watkins has also left many supporters unhappy.

Emery was guarded when asked what had happened with the England striker, saying the reason for Watkins being left out against Brighton was “a question for him”.

That followed the departure of several high-profile players from Villa Park this summer, including Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers, Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa, while Emiliano Martinez has also been tipped to leave.

However, Peter Crouch believes the Villa manager has already proved that he is fully capable of coming through a difficult spell and continuing to guide the side towards bigger achievements over the longer term.

The former Villa striker told FourFourTwo earlier this summer: “Unai Emery deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the really elite managers, with what he’s done at Aston Villa.

“Winning the Europa League was massive, and Champions League football again is going to help them take things up another notch in the long term.

“I’m pleased for the fans who’ve suffered over the years.

“I interviewed Unai at the training ground and he’s in it for the long haul. Why wouldn’t he be? They’ve got ambition.

“They’ve built a hotel at the training ground – that’s important because they might fly back from a European game, sleep there, then do a warm-down the next day.

“He’s geared that club up for consistent success in Europe, and I think that’s what they’ll get.”

Villa will learn their opponents for the league phase of this season’s Champions League when the draw takes place on Thursday, August 27.