The Talk Villa Newsletter: #1
Pre-season developments Stateside, new signing Moussa Diaby arrives, transfer talk, team news and how Villa are shaping up for the new season...
🇺🇸 It’s a party in the USA…
Aston Villa’s USA pre-season tour is well underway having played our first game in the Premier League Summer Series in ‘Villadelphia’ on Sunday night.
Our encounter with Newcastle Utd ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw with convincing defending left as optional, but there was plenty on offer from the performance for Unai Emery to meticulously dissect.
Two goals to the good after just 11 minutes in front of 40,000 fans at Lincoln Financial Field with an impressive turnout from the Villa faithful, some of our early play was highly impressive, as we built on the positive work of last season and showed great intent and tactical fluidity in terms of how we want to build our play and break teams down.
Emi Buendia starred with two goals and an assist, and it’s a big year for the Argentine playmaker as he searches for consistency. Emery hinted at the role he wants him to play this season in his post-match praise, and with a certain new signing adding quality on the opposite flank, we could have a more balanced and potent attacking threat this season.
“Yes, he was excellent,” Emery said of Buendia. “We are trying to get with him his quality behind the midfield line and when he is playing and starting like a left winger and going inside, today he was perfect. Then, he can progress doing assists and getting into the box like he did today. His performance was very good and of course we want our players to get fit and then confidence to play with his qualities.”
It was an ideal way to ramp up our pre-season preparations with a good tempo and intensity to the game against solid opposition. While we got our first glimpse of Pau Torres and Youri Tielemans off the bench as they made their Villa debuts and looked impressive early on, a deserved shout-out for youngsters Jaden Philogene and Omari Kellyman too, who took their chance to impress and caught the eye.
🎶 Ohhh I wanna dance with Diaby…
Don’t worry, the music references will stop after this week, but someone who is just getting started at Villa is our new signing Moussa Diaby.
The 24-year-old arrives from Bayer Leverkusen in a deal reportedly worth €40m plus add-ons, with Emery confirming that he will likely be available to feature against Fulham on Wednesday in our next pre-season outing.
For a deep dive into what we can expect from Diaby, check out our analysis on the French international. With his pace in and out of possession though, direct style, movement, technical quality, versatility to play across the frontline and ability to be decisive in the final third [49 goals and 48 assists in 172 appearances for Leverkusen attest to that], Emery has a top talent at his disposal and he looked delighted to welcome him this week.
From his very first press conference after arriving, the Villa boss was adamant that he only wanted to bring in players who significantly improved what was already in the squad. In Torres [€32.5m plus add-ons], Tielemans [free] and Diaby, we’ve added real quality in key areas.
📰 Transfer talk and team news
Villa have made three summer signings thus far in Torres, Tielemans and Diaby, while Jed Steer [free], Ashley Young [free], Marvelous Nakamba [undisclosed fee] and Viljami Sinisalo [loan] have departed.
Emery noted this week he’s pleased with the balance in the squad and with the reinforcements that have arrived, but much will now depend on potential outgoings and if opportunities in the market present themselves to add more to his group.
Morgan Sanson is expected to be next out the door with the Villa boss confirming he was left out of the squad to face Newcastle as an exit is close, and so having spent the best part of two years with an unwavering belief that the Frenchman would eventually come good for us, it may be time to finally admit defeat.
As for injuries, Emery confirmed that Alex Moreno [hamstring] is expected back at the end of August at the earliest, while Jacob Ramsey [foot] will be targeting a comeback after the international break in mid-September.
Philippe Coutinho should be available against Fulham this week, while Leon Bailey is expected to report back on Thursday after an extended break following his international exploits.
Leander Dendoncker [personal] is likely to rejoin the squad next week with Bertrand Traore eyeing a return in the second week of August. Jhon Duran will train with the squad when they return from the USA.
Best of the rest…
NSWE 💜💙
July 20 marked five years since Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens injected significant investment into the club.
It’s been quite the journey since, and with big changes on and off the pitch under their stewardship continuing this summer with Monchi’s arrival as President of Football Operations and Chris Heck as President of Business Operations, the club is going from strength to strength.
Here’s to ongoing progress and success in the next five years 🤞🏽
Updated North Stand plans unveiled
Villa’s updated redevelopment plans for the North Stand will increase Villa Park’s capacity to over 50,000 and the objective is to also modernise the stadium to create a world class entertainment venue.
It’s a crucial part of our long-term strategy for success both from a sporting and business perspective, and while there are still obstacles to overcome - namely the transport issues surrounding the increase in fan numbers - it’s hoped that we continue to make progress and begin work on these ambitious, but necessary, plans in the near future.
Talk Villa Quiz
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