I needed a break from Premier League football as much as the players did when it concluded in May. The emotional rollercoaster of the Uefa Conference League and Champions League qualification took it out of me and I was ready for what the summer had in store for us.
We have been spoilt in the close season with various cricket competitions (if like me, that’s your thing), the Foo Fighters at Villa Park, the Euros and of course the Olympics which comes to its conclusion on Friday.
However, this weekend saw the return of the SPL. Not quite the standard I would like (sorry Scottish football fans) but it was nice to see domestic football back on the TV again.
We are less than two weeks away from the Premier League return and Aston Villa will kick off their season in the capital when they take on West Ham United at the London Stadium.
Aston Villa have been very busy throughout the summer, probably busier than most expected and I don’t believe we are quite finished just yet. I will attempt to wrap everything up so far.
Villa Park
Chris Heck stated before the season ended that there would be many changes to Villa Park during the off-season and from what we have seen so far, he wasn’t lying.
It appears that all the seating within the Holte End and North Stand has been replaced with new seating, with new aisle alignments and safe standing introduced in various areas.
An Adidas sign is now visible in the North Stand upper with various hospitality areas introduced throughout the ground.
There is now a new display on the side of the Holte Club shop building of Ollie Watkins, Rachel Daly and Emi Martinez.
During the Foo Fighters gig, it looked like the hospitality boxes within the Doug Ellis Stand had been knocked through into one big hospitality area.
And if that wasn’t enough? Heck promised improvements to the concourse area throughout and of course the new club shop which should be open for our Villa Park opener against Arsenal!
I think I’ve just about covered everything there.
Departures
Due to Villa’s well-publicised PSR issues, we all expected to lose someone big from within the squad. If you asked most throughout last season they expected it to be Douglas Luiz but early rumours in the summer suggested it could have been our very own Jacob Ramsey. In the end, it was our Brazilian prince, who departed as he joined Juventus in a deal said to be in the region of £45million.
We also saw departures of younger players who wanted more game time: Tim Iroegbunam joined fellow Premier League side Everton for a reported £10 million while goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo headed North of the border when he joined Celtic for around £1.5 million.
Morgan Sanson’s loan deal with Nice was made permanent while Calum Chambers was allowed to join Cardiff City on loan.
I think the biggest surprise came when Villa allowed youngster Omari Kellyman to move to Chelsea in a £19 million deal and then the biggest shock.
Links started to surface that Moussa Diaby, a £38.5 million signing last summer was being linked with a move to Saudi Arabia. Al-Ittihad tried to sign the French man when he opted to join Villa but this time the temptation was too good as he moved to Jeddah in a deal said to be worth just shy of £60 million.
It was also announced while I was writing this that Josh Feeney and Lewis Dobbin would be joining Shrewsbury and West Bromwich Albion respectively on loan.
Arrivals
Despite speculation regarding potential incomings from Juventus as part of the Douglas Luiz, Aston Villa announced the signing of Ian Maatsen at the back end of June. The Netherlands international arrived from Chelsea in a deal said to be worth around £37 million.
Days later Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea were announced from Juventus for a combined £18 million.
The worst-kept secret of the summer was then confirmed when Ross Barkley finally confirmed his arrival from Luton in a deal said to be worth £5 million. Barkley returns to Villa after impressing at Kenilworth Road last season.
Next up was the return of Jaden Philogene from Hull. The winger left Villa Park last summer but Villa had a clause as part of the deal allowing them to match any potential sale of the winger for Hull. On top of that, Villa also had a clause allowing them a % of any sale by Hull so they ended up snapping up Philogene for cheaper than Ipswich would have paid, had he signed for them.
Finally and possibly the most important deal of the summer, Amadou Onana was confirmed from Everton in a deal said to be worth around £50 million.
What’s next
It’s never really clear what Villa have in mind where the transfer window is concerned. João Félix is the obvious one with both players and Villa said to be interested in a deal but the players asking price with Atletico Madrid being the reported stumbling block.
I am sure Villa would like to bring in another centre-back if they can offload Diego Carlos who has been linked with moves back to Sevilla and Fulham but nothing concrete has materialised yet.
I do think that our business so far strengthens the squad compared to what we had last season but replacing Douglas Luiz and Diaby’s goal contributions in the first team does remain a worry at this stage.
