Matt Maher: Aston Villa's season may rest on disproving an old football cliche

In the case of Leon Bailey, it is more accurate to say the winger never really left. Just five unproductive, unhappy months on loan at Roma was all Bailey spent away before being recalled.

For Douglas Luiz, the wait was a little longer, his loan return from Juventus occurring around 18 months after he was sold to the Italian giants for £42.5million.

The longest interval belongs to Tammy Abraham, who finally became a permanent Villa player more than six-and-a-half years after helping fire the club back into the Premier League and following several previous failed attempts to secure his signature.

Abraham’s signing was the only one not dictated by events in a month where Villa, restricted as usual by financial fair play requirements, were also left to rue their bad fortune with John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara all going down on consecutive weekends, the latter sustaining a knee injury which ruled him out for the season.

Emery has long admired Abraham and the striker was top of his list heading into the window, with the Villa boss prepared to rejig his forward line to bring in more natural cover for Ollie Watkins should circumstances allow.

Roma’s interest in Donyell Malen opened the door, financially, for the Abraham move. Negotiations were complicated, due to the England international being on loan at Besiktas but eventually, an agreement was reached. The challenge now is to prove all the effort was worth it.

Midfield was also an area Emery was keen to strengthen, though it would be wrong to say Luiz was his primary target.

That was Conor Gallagher, with Villa having made contact with Atletico Madrid before Kamara suffered his season-ending injury early in an FA Cup win at Tottenham on January 10.

Two days later, they appeared in pole position to sign Gallagher only for a hamstring injury to Spurs midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur to change the landscape and prompt the London club to move at the 11th hour and steal the deal.

Villa’s interest in Luiz ramped up after it became clear Tielemans would miss at least two months with an ankle injury, making midfield reinforcements essential.

Prior to then, Bailey had already been recalled, primarily to provide cover on the right side of midfield during the absence of McGinn but also because of an apparent lack of faith in Evann Guessand’s ability to do the job. 

Guessand then left for Crystal Palace, perhaps for good, just five months after having joined from Nice in a deal which could eventually be worth £30m. One of the more remarkable aspects of Villa’s season has been their success in spite of a summer window which, certainly in attacking areas, has failed to deliver.

There is still time for that view to change, particularly if Villa are successful in renegotiating the terms of Harvey Elliott’s loan deal.

The latter’s return to the fold, after almost four months in exile, underlines the extent to which it is now a case of all hands on deck. 

Emery’s greatest fear is of a drop-off similar to two years ago when Villa, with an eerily similar points haul to that of now, steadily ran out of steam over the final months.

They still held on to finish fourth, yet could not find a way past Olympiacos in the Conference League semi-finals.

Villa entered this window full of momentum and targeting the one or two additions which could ensure they maintained it through until May.

Instead, misfortune left them fighting fires and the six weeks which precede the March international break, prior to the probable returns of McGinn and Tielemans, now feel particularly important.

The closure of the window at least brings clarity. Much as Emery might claim he lets others get on with the job of recruitment, the overwhelming sense is the manager can often seem distracted.

Now, there is only focus on the task at hand. Just how quickly the returning trio of Bailey, Abraham and Luiz get up to speed is likely key to what happens next.