Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has provided a clear update on two fronts ahead of a crucial European night, addressing both Jadon Sancho's immediate fitness and the swirling transfer speculation surrounding the Manchester United loanee.

Villa hold a commanding 3-1 lead as they prepare to host Bologna in the Europa League quarter-final second leg, with a semi-final spot against Porto or Nottingham Forest within their grasp. The focus is firmly on securing that progression, but team news remains a key talking point.

Sancho, who had been building promising form, has been sidelined for the last two matches with a shoulder injury sustained on international duty. The timing was far from ideal for the England forward, but the recovery appears to be on track.

When pressed on Villa's potential interest in making Sancho's move permanent this summer, Emery deftly sidestepped the future talk to concentrate on the present. "We are focused 100 per cent on our objective," Emery stated, emphasizing that discussions about individual futures are a distraction from the immediate task.

More importantly for Thursday's match, the manager delivered positive news on the injury front. "He is coming back [from injury] and he is a fantastic player," Emery confirmed, indicating Sancho is in contention to feature against Bologna. The coach praised Sancho's adaptation and progress within Villa's system, noting the recent injury was simply an unfortunate setback in his integration.

With a pivotal European fixture on the horizon and a player of Sancho's caliber potentially returning to the fold, Villa's ambitions for a deep continental run receive a timely boost as the season reaches its climax.