Aston Villa new strongest lineup after January transfer window - gallery

As transfer windows go, January went incredibly well for Aston Villa as Unai Emery added depth and quality in necessary areas, all while making a substantial profit at the very same time.

Villa made five new first-team recruits during the winter, whereas the likes of Jhon Duran and Jaden Philogene departed to more than balance the books. In fact, the departures of just those two players brought in an astonishing £87 million, only a small portion of which was needed.

Emery, Monchi and co were very intelligent in their dealings to secure three loanees for cut prices, one of whom could sign permanently in the summer if all goes to plan. The other two additions, meanwhile, cost just £28 million between them and they are both likely to play an important part this campaign.

There are still areas to address in the summer with Emery eager to add another central defender and potentially a forward player if the loanees don’t have the desired impact. The squad’s looking in good shape as it is, though, with Villa set up superbly to compete for the Premier League top four and to progress far in the UEFA Champions League.

But what does the strongest lineup look like? Following an intense and exhilarating transfer window, here’s how Villa could line up when fully fit: