Aston Villa

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport Journalist

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League opener at West Ham (kick-off 17:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On being forced to sell young players to comply with profit and sustainability rules: "For the PSR rules it was better for us and we decided to do this situation. We achieved the rules by doing some things with young players that really I prefer not to do, but we did it."

• Emery said that the sale of Cameron Archer to Southampton was not down to PSR, but was right for the striker's development: "He is leaving because we are thinking he needs to do his work individually and try to develop himself because he we cannot assure him to play big minutes with us."

• Diego Carlos, however, is not on his way out of Villa, according to Emery, who said the Brazil centre-back was "completely with us". He added: "Of course things can change, maybe, but it’s not in my mind to change something around him now, unless again there is an offer coming in for us that could be a good offer."

• On the expected return date for defender Tyrone Mings, who has not played since injuring his knee on the opening day of last season: "He’s not training with us yet, but hopefully by the beginning of September he is joining in with us. Come September and October, hopefully he will be completely training with us and available to play."

• On whether Ollie Watkins is ready to go after being away with England this summer and a lack of pre-season action: "He is in the squad but I don't know if he will play at the beginning or if he will be late to play some minutes. I will meet him and after my talk with him I will decide whether he is going to play or not."

• Emery said opponents West Ham have reason to be ambitious: "I think they are going to try to get the same we got last year. Tomorrow is going to be a good match, where we start two teams more or less similar. I am very motivated and excited with the players how we are going to start tomorrow."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news.

Image source, Aston Villa

Aston Villa have revealed their 2024-25 Premier League away kit which marks the club’s 150th anniversary.

The white shirt has classic claret and blue stripes on the collar and 'AV 150’ on the back.

It will be worn by the men's team as well as the women's team.

Who has made the most Premier League appearances for Aston Villa?

Answer will be revealed on this page at 17:00 BST

Union Berlin and Getafe are leading the race to sign forward Cameron Archer on loan from Aston Villa. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

"In Unai we trust!"

Those words became a battle-cry for Aston Villa supporters as Unai Emery drove them forward. But of late, as Villa stumbled through pre-season, those words have begun to sound like a prayer. Unai will fix it... won’t he?

The showpiece tours of the modern Premier League pre-season are not kind towards fans inclined to worry. Obscured by the hoopla, the only pre-season result of any long-term importance is the team's state when the first Premier League whistle sounds, and there is reason to believe Villa will be in decent shape.

Concerns over profit and sustainability limits dampened expectations, but within those boundaries, transfer business has been sensible. While keeping net-spending on fees low, Villa now have more fully-fledged top-flight players than how they started the summer.

They replaced the most significant player to leave, Douglas Luiz, bringing in Amadou Onana, while Emi Buendia and Tyrone Mings should return too. Villa will have greater squad depth than last year.

In their current situation, this amounts to steady, well-judged development. The problem is that while the number of games is unlikely to increase, the Champions League means the level of quality required has gone up instead.

How far would the Villa side that reached the Conference League semi-final in May get in the senior European competition? The squad may now be deeper - but is the new 'best XI' better than last season’s version?

Pre-season results cannot reliably tell us, and some of Villa’s key players have not long returned to work anyway after summer tournaments. There is still time to complete more business, and maybe address what remains the most delicate potential problem – what happens if Ollie Watkins suffers an injury or loss of form?

Villa are a club scrambling to keep up, not so much with their rivals as with their manager. There is no disgrace in that – the dramatic progress Unai Emery has achieved with the players available is beyond all reasonable expectations when he arrived, save perhaps his own.

But there is nobody more determined to pull the club further forward than Emery himself, as shown by his signing of a new contract this summer.

In Unai Villa trust; but he clearly trusts Villa too, as the vehicle for his ambitions.

Listen to full commentary of West Ham v Aston Villa at 17:30 on Saturday on BBC Radio WM

Tune into The West Midlands Football Phone-In from 18:00 on weeknights

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa have lost their opening Premier League match in each of the past three seasons, conceding 10 goals in these games.

They also lost the most recent time they faced West Ham in their first game, going down 1-0 at Upton Park in 2012-13.

It's that time of the year again - the annual act of foolishness in which I try to predict the outcome of the 2024-25 season for all 20 Premier League clubs.

Aston Villa - fourth

I tipped Aston Villa to finish fifth last season based on Unai Emery's expertise. He went one better and put them in the Champions League, a superb achievement.

I believe they will stay in the top four, having broken through that glass ceiling. An ambitious club with a top-class manager and a developing squad.

Douglas Luiz will be a loss after leaving for Juventus but plenty of quality remains elsewhere. Ollie Watkins is a proven Premier League marksman who also demonstrated his ability with England at Euro 2024.

Amadou Onana's £50m capture from Everton is intriguing. He flattered to deceive so often at Goodison Park but plenty of sound judges rate the gifted Belgium midfielder as a genuine star of the future. Ross Barkley's return has the element of a punt about it but he was cheap at £5m and showed his class at Luton Town last season.

Ian Maatsen is a smart capture from Chelsea, the Dutch left-back having helped Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final during his loan spell last season.

Champions League football will put an additional strain on Emery's squad but I fancy top four again.

Read all of Phil's predictions here

Aston Villa are working on a deal to sign 19-year-old Colombia defender Yeimar Mosquera from Orsomarso SC in his country's top flight. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport football statistician

Aston Villa’s incredible campaign last season saw them clinch their first top-four finish in the Premier League for 28 years - but their stats suggest there are still areas Unai Emery will want to improve on.

While they ranked highly in most metrics – and fourth in the most important one of all, points – the only other stat where they ranked in the top four was in the low number of shots they gave up, thanks to the delightfully infuriating offside trap that Emery has implemented.

Only the top two were more ruthless in front of goal last time out – with the Villans overperforming their xG by 11 goals – so fans will hope that Ollie Watkins and company have taken good care of their shooting boots over the summer.

David Michael
Fan writer

Where will you finish in the league and why?

Sixth. I do not think Villa have added enough at the moment to stay in the top four, while making a fist of the Champions League. With the midfield axis of Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara gone, which was key to Villa's success last season, Villa will need to evolve their new-look midfield fast. That said, after fading at the back end of last season, they have freshened things up in a positive manner.

Who is the best signing or has he not signed yet and who should it be?

Sticking to actual signings, Amadou Onana. The 22-year-old is at the heart of Villa's midfield evolution. It is not necessarily based on what he has already done, but what the Belgium international could go on to do. He carries the weight of a reported £50m transfer fee, but if he imposes himself and strengthens the midfield, then Villa letting go of 2-0 leads should be a thing of the past. He is technically impressive too for a 6ft 5in player and he is certainly the key to Villa progressing this season.

What do you want from your manager this season?

You would love a trophy, but some good scalps in the Champions League would be very welcome, as would qualifying for Europe for a third straight season.

Who will be the breakout star in your squad?

After full seasons in the Championship with both Cardiff and Hull, returning Villa academy player Jaden Philogene is both battle-ready and playing without fear. Emery has obviously given the winger reinsurances in terms of playing time and he certainly could surprise a few people.

What is your one major concern?

An over-reliance on Ollie Watkins and the corresponding lack of first-rate proven striker options. The England forward rarely gets injured, but this is such a high-stakes season to take chances.

David Michael can be found at My Old Man Said, external

Image source, Reuters

Manchester City trio Erling Haaland, Rodri and Phil Foden are on the six-man shortlist for the Professional Footballers' Assocation Player of the Year award for 2023-24.

They helped City win a fourth successive Premier League title, with Haaland ending as the division's top scorer and Foden's contribution earning him the Football Writers' Association player of the year award in May.

Norway striker Haaland won the PFA award in 2022-23.

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, Chelsea forward Cole Palmer and Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins complete the shortlist for the PFA prize, with the winner being announced on 20 August.

The nominees are:

• Phil Foden (Manchester City)

• Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

• Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)

• Cole Palmer (Chelsea)

• Rodri (Manchester City)

• Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

After a long summer break, BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club is back in action this evening.

Tune in as the panel cover all the major talking points from the summer and look ahead to Premier League football returning at the weekend.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

The curtain opens on the 2024-25 Premier League season in just a matter of days, so why not take a look at how all 20 clubs performed in pre-season?

The games have been spread across the globe, from Tokyo and New York to Crawley and Preston.

See the results here

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's pre-season friendly between Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund.

Here are some of your comments:

Paul: Pluses and minuses again but every other team has taken the pre-season more seriously than us. Still need to strengthen in defence and attack because it looks like we can't rely on Diego Carlos and Jhon Duran. Need a serious step up in levels for West Ham and particularly Arsenal.

Ash: Not a great result, these are the teams we could be facing in the Champions League, so not a confidence booster. Villa need to improve rapidly.

Philip: I think that Villa have a hangover from last season and new players have not yet become used to the team dynamics. I also think Douglas Luiz is a big loss. Hopefully it will all come together on Saturday.

Marshy: Worrying set of results and this one no different. Good opposition granted, but with so many changes over the summer it’s going to be very difficult to recreate the team from last season. Of course, in Unai we trust, but I think he has his work cut out this time around.

Isaac: Not drawing too much from this, despite the loss. We’ll have Ollie Watkins back after his time in the Euros and his absence was probably a main reason why we lost.

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa's pre-season campaign ended in disappointment as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat at Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund.

Two goals in three first-half minutes did the damage but otherwise Unai Emery's side acquitted themselves well at Signal Iduna Park.

So what did you learn from this game, Villa fans?

Are Unai Emery's side ready for the big kick-off next weekend?

Let us know your thoughts on the match here, external - and return on Monday to read the submissions

The Premier League season is fast approaching and clubs are continuing their pre-season preparations.

Here's a look at some of the teams in action on a busy Saturday.

All times BST

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham have had a bid rejected for Aston Villa defender Diego Carlos.

Fulham are looking at a number of possibilities to strengthen their centre-back options after Tosin Adarabioyo left for Chelsea on a free transfer and Tim Ream joined Charlotte FC.

The Cottagers completed the signing of Jorge Cuenca earlier this week from Villarreal as they look to bolster their squad ahead of the new season.

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport Football News Reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Dominic Solanke's impending transfer to Tottenham from Bournemouth could set the dominoes falling for other moves.

The Cherries hold an interest in Aston Villa's Cameron Archer, who returned to Villa Park this summer after a season at Sheffield United.

They had no plans to add to their forward line while Solanke was at the club but his expected departure drastically changes the landscape at the Vitality Stadium.

Archer re-joined Villa in June after Sheffield United were relegated, which triggered the clause for his return after he joined the Blades for £18m last summer. The striker scored four goals in 21 Premier League starts for United.

Villa's forward line remains thin, though, with little central back up for Ollie Watkins.

Jhon Duran remains at the club - despite summer interest from West Ham, who signed Niclas Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund this week.

Archer's immediate future is likely to be tied to whether Duran remains in Birmingham as the club will not leave themselves short up front so close to the start of the season.