The first of three in Aston Villa’s pre-season tour of Australia features a contest against Jesse Marsch’s Leeds United on Sunday 17th July.
The Whites have also traveled down-under with Steven Gerrard’s men to compete in the inaugural three-team Queensland Champions Cup, alongside Australia’s own Brisbane Roar FC, who the claret and blue side will battle against days later on Wednesday 20th July.
Also featuring on the tour is Manchester United, who the Villans will face at the end of their two-week trip in Perth’s ICON Festival of Football event, held at the iconic Optus Stadium on the west-coast.
The upcoming fixture against Leeds United is the current focus however, and the tie is set to be an interesting occasion, with the Yorkshire-based side losing two of their best players during the ongoing summer window – midfielder Kalvin Phillips joined champions Manchester City, whilst tricky winger Raphinha made the switch to FC Barcelona.
Marsch’s side, who battled heavily with relegation last season, look to have brought in around Β£100 million from these two sales, and have already invested the majority of that figure on a number of acquisitions, in order to fill the voids left from the departing pair.
The Peacock’s business includes signings such as Marc Roca and Tyler Adams who join from Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig respectfully; brought in to play the Kalvin Phillips role at the heart of the side. Forward options include record-signing Brenden Aaaronson from RB Salzburg and winger Luis Sinisterra who leaves Eredivisie side Feyenoord for the Premier League. Youngster Darko Gyabi and Rasmus Kristensen also make the switch and look to have strengthened Leeds United’s squad options.
Head Coach Jesse Marsch will use the precious time during pre-season to integrate his new recruits and prepare his side ready for the trials and tribulations that come with the Premier League. Leeds’ first competitive encounter welcomes Wolves to Elland Road, and Marsch will hope his side is up to the task with the fixture right around the corner (August 6th).
There are of course new names in the Aston Villa camp too, including France international midfielder Boubacar Kamara, who joined on a free from Marseille, and Brazilian centre-back Diego Carlos whose incoming bolsters the defensive ranks having left Spanish side Sevilla for a reported Β£28 million.
Whilst familiar faces from last season, both Robin Olsen and Philippe Coutinho joined the club on a permanent basis during this window, and look ready to feature across the tour too. The latest incoming, Ludwig Augustinsson who joins on loan from Sevilla with an option to buy, will seemingly meet-up with the squad at some point during the tour and could feature against Manchester United or at a later date in the final pre-season tie against Stade Rennais.
In a recent interview with VillaTV, boss Steven Gerrard described the latest acquisition as a “shrewd signing” and believes Augustinsson, along with the other incomings, provide “experience not just on the domestic stage but internationally and in Europe too.”. Gerrard will hope that with a pre-season under his belt to promote and get across his playing style and philosophy, and a couple of transfer windows now to bring in his own players, that his side can make a real push for the top-half of the league table next season.
Fans will be excited to see the new stars in action this Sunday against Leeds United, and will hope Gerrard’s well-delivered words and forward-thinking plans will come into fruition for the 22/23 campaign.
P.S. be sure to keep an eye out later this week on utvpodcast.co.uk as I offer my thoughts and opinions on Aston Villa’s first Australian tour fixture will pan out in this week’s edition of ‘pre-match thoughts’.
AUTHOR | LIAM DAVIES
Author’s UTV PODCAST archive liamayrtondavies – UTV Podcast | An Aston Villa Blog
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