As Aston Villa’s pre-season comes to an end, it’s time to focus on the real thing.
In this article, I will be getting the views of the Villa Faithful ahead of our opening game of the Premier League season.
FRIENDLY FEVER
It’s always interesting watching pre-season friendlies; however, it’s sometimes quite difficult to take anything from them. The early games are often just an excuse to gain fitness, while the later games are a chance to trial new tactics. I want to look at Villa’s first four friends.
So what worked and what didn’t in pre-season? Let’s start with what didn’t. In the last match of the Premier League Summer Series, Villa switched up their tactics. Last season, we saw Villa’s attacking emphasis predominantly come from the left side. Against Brentford, that changed with Cash being granted attacking freedom.
This meant that Aston Villa’s new signing, Pau Torres, was trialled as a left back. While it wasn’t an awful display, you could tell that Torres was slightly uncomfortable out of position. Having said this, Cash’s attacking freedom did lead to a nice goal, so maybe it wasn’t as bad as I first thought.
Now what was a positive from Villa’s preseason? There were several, and it was hard to pick out just one. Having thought about it for a while, though, the best talking point for Villa has been Jaden Philogene-Bidace. The youngster was being touted for loans as if it were a certainty prior to pre-season, and now he’s in serious contention for a place in the starting eleven.
He has shown himself to be comfortable on the wing, both in attack and defence, and has really impressed. Jaden, for sure, has a very exciting future in a claret and blue shirt. He is perfect for Emery’s system and fills the all-important homegrown player quota.
Let’s see what Villa fan, Jack (@JackAVFC77) thinks about Villa’s pre-season.
“Starting with our 3-3 draw to Newcastle, I thought the star of the show was of course Emiliano Buendia. In addition to Emi, Jaden Philogene-Bidace proved to Unai and to all of us that he can in fact play a part in our first team for this upcoming season. Those two were the standouts. Douglas Luiz as always was excellent, along side a very promising set of debuts from Youri Tielemans and Pau Torres”.
Jack (@_JackAvfc) / X (twitter.com)
“The Fulham game was a weird one for me as although we won 2-0 and kept the clean sheet, it felt like the performance was more lacklustre than the Newcastle game. The main positive for me was the fact the new £52m man Moussa Diaby scored on his debut. This was also the game we really got to see Konsa trialled at right back, an experiment that seemed to work, as he played very well and shown that the 3 centre back look with an attacking left back really could be the future for Villa”.
“Overall, I think this pre season tour of the USA has shown a lot of promise for us Villa fans and has given us a lot to be excited about. I think we’ve seen very promising signs from our new additions as well as youngsters like Omari Kellyman and Seb Revan, of course there is areas to be worked on but it’s pre season and I’m sure we all trust Unai to fix any issues by the time we face Newcastle at St. James’ Park on the opening weekend of the Premier League season”.
“The final game against Brentford was a bit of a rollercoaster game. Pau Torres was trialled at left back for this game but in my opinion I didn’t feel like this worked, and as a team I feel we are more suited to the attacking left back with Konsa at right back. We must mention that Ezri Konsa goal, who channelled his inner Alan Hutton to run from almost his own penalty area to fire us back into the game, with the goal of the Summer Series”.
Can I ask a quick favour? We love producing content for you on our website, and we want to share it with as many Villa fans as possible. Consider mentioning our website next time you’re talking Villa with your friends, or better still, It’s free to subscribe to our profit-free site; you’ll receive instant email notifications of all released articles. Plus, as with the website, no adverts or spam mail will be delivered to your mailbox; only our content. Thanks.
SUMMER SIGNINGS
It’s been an eventful window for Villa, but overall, I think it’s hard to argue that it hasn’t been an overwhelming success. We have strengthened in key areas and gotten rid of dead weight. While there are still some areas for improvement, the window is still open for a long time.
Let’s start with outgoings. The non-renewal of Ashley Young was a sad start, but it was one that made sense in the long run. Marvelous Nakamba’s move to Luton was one that suited both parties, while Villa were keen to offload Wesley from their books. All three major outgoings didn’t really have a future under Emery, so it made sense to offload.
Now let’s switch our focus to inbounds. Our statement of intent to stay among the European elite has been shown through our signings. Youri Tielemans has come in and added depth and quality to our midfield. The Belgian will be keen to restore his stature after a disappointing season with Leicester, and I see no reason why he won’t, based on pre-season.
Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby have both really impressed me in preseason. Torres has looked good in defence and has shown his leadership qualities. Diaby has come in and scored twice in two matches, showing his clinical nature. A very impressive start.
Let’s see what UTV Podcast’s own Ryan (@mckeown_ryan) has to say about our summer business:
“It’s been a calm, controlled, and measured transfer window so far”.
Ryan Mckeown (@mckeown_ryan) / X (twitter.com)
“Youri Tielemans, Pau Torres, and Moussa Diaby were all our key targets, and we’ve got them in at the earliest opportunity. Integrating seamlessly into the squad during the US tour”.
“The signing of the stylish Tielemans (for FREE) reinforces the double pivot with competitive competition, coupled with Douglas Luiz and Boubarcar Kamara”.
“The acquisition of Pau Torres sparks the evolution of our defensive shape; we’ve already seen this evolve throughout preseason”.
“Moussa: Let’s dance! Diaby adds pace and a sharpened dynamic edge to our forward line. A Moussa and Ollie partnership could be very explosive indeed!”
A SUMMARY
So there we have it. With just over a week left until the business starts Villa look to be in a positive position. Pre-season has been a successful few weeks of experimentation and building fitness. That’s all you can really ask for.
Let me know your thoughts and feelings ahead of the start of the season. What have you made of pre-season? Are you happy with the business we’ve done in the summer?
MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR: ELLIS BURNETT
“Thank you for reading: any likes, retweets, or shares on the social media post where you found this article would be highly appreciated“.z
“Are you on Twitter? Drop me a follow; all released articles will be posted to my feed”.
Click the icon below…
HUGE SAVINGS ON ASTON VILLA MERCHANDISE @ KITBAG
UTVPODCAST | The Website is pleased to partner with Official AVFC Store, Fanatics, and Kitbag. Throughout the season, we will bring you exclusive offers and discount codes.
