... and who should sign?
As all Villa fans know, the club will leave it late this summer to snap up their key men for next season. Martin O'Neill is a fan of letting his rivals make the first move. It is almost as if he is playing a game of chess.
But, while the Northern Irishman enjoys his end-of-season holidays, supporters continue to speculate about just who will be wearing the famous Claret and Blue next season. Here, we have already decided who we want to be making use of the revolving doors at Villa Park this summer.
Here are the men who should be packing up their stuff and making a move to pastures new:
Marlon Harewood - The powerful striker just isn't going to get any game time under O'Neill. The boss has never really taken a shine to him, probably due to a lack of striker's instinct. Harewood, despite always giving his all, has failed to show his credentials in front of goal and his poor ratio will cost him dear.
Steve Sidwell - The former Chelsea man has had a really blue season. He has offered little since joining the club and for a box-to-box midfielder he scores remarkably few goals. The ginger ninja now looks likely to head for the exit, and has been linked heavily with Fulham.
Curtis Davies - A man who has never really had the best of times in the Claret and Blue, only really impressing when playing alongside former skipper Martin Laursen. Davies has a great reputation, which he perhaps doesn't deserve based on his showings for Villa. He was unlucky to suffer a long-term injury last season and he may not get another look in now with Spurs apparently ready to end his spell in the Midlands.
Wilfred Bouma - The Dutch defender has been blighted by injury since joining from PSV Eindhoven in 2005. He looked set to make a comeback in March but suffered another setback in his recovery and it looks like O'Neill has run out of patience. Bouma could be ready to return to PSV this summer.
Emile Heskey - The big man undoubtedly offers plenty to the team when on form but his goalscoring record isn't good enough. Villa need a 20-goal per season man up top and Heskey simply isn't that. If he just made his way into double figures, then fans may accept him but he only scored five times last season and O'Neill should look to offload him before the new season. Sunderland will be favourites to sign him.
And here are just a few of the aces we want to see replace those men on the move:
Stephen Ireland - The creative midfielder deserves to be playing first team Premier League football but he looks unlikely to get that at Manchester City next season. He was awesome at times under the guidance of Mark Hughes and he could be again under O'Neill. Could come in as part of a swap deal for James Milner.
Bobby Zamora - Although he has progressed past the age of 30, Zamora would be the ideal man to spearhead Villa's Europa League campaign. He did brilliantly for Fulham last season and has a goalscoring touch to go with his superb skills. He could be acquired for around £8m if you believe the rumours.
Micah Richards - The England man was brilliant in his first full season for Manchester City, often impressing against Villa. He has bulked up since then, perhaps wrongly as it has cost him some pace, but he is capable of great things and with the development system at Villa Park he could flourish.
