Aston Villa

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa midfielder Samuel Iling Jr is expected to leave on loan before Monday's transfer deadline.

The England Under-21 international, who won Euro 2025 with the Young Lions in the summer, has been given the green light for a temporary move.

Iling Jr is yet to make a senior appearance for Villa since joining from Juventus last summer and was an unused substitute in the opening day 0-0 draw with Newcastle.

He spent time at Bologna - playing against Villa in the Champions League - and Middlesbrough last season.

The 21-year-old started his career at Chelsea before moving to Juve in 2020, where he played 45 times, scoring twice, and won the Italian Cup in 2024.

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The draw has been made for the Carabao Cup third round, with 15 Premier League clubs having made it through or entering at this stage.

There are two all-Premier League ties, while holders Newcastle host League One Bradford City.

Ties will take place across two weeks, beginning on 15 and 22 September.

All the fixtures featuring top-flight sides are shown below in the order they were drawn:

• Port Vale v Arsenal

• Swansea City v Nottingham Forest

• Lincoln City v Chelsea

• Tottenham Hotspur v Doncaster Rovers

• Brentford v Aston Villa

• Huddersfield Town v Manchester City

• Liverpool v Southampton

• Newcastle United v Bradford City

• Wolves v Everton

• Crystal Palace v Millwall

• Burnley v Cardiff City

• Barnsley v Brighton

• Fulham v Cambridge United

See the full draw

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

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Interesting contributions to the debate over financial restrictions, in so far as they affect clubs in Aston Villa's specific circumstances, continue to roll in - a sure sign that the football so far has not been engaging.

Alan Shearer and Micah Richards used Match of the Day to weigh in on Villa's behalf. Shearer had a point when he suggested the current rules were not designed for clubs with owners like Villa's, although we might note that Villa have not always had owners held in such high regard.

But as fan writer David Michael observed in a bracing piece on this page on Tuesday, simply pointing at the rulebook will not quite do as an explanation for Villa's slow start.

The net spend on transfer fees since Unai Emery's arrival may be low, but it isn't true to say new players have not arrived. That calculation does not include Villa's notably high wage bill, for example, or the loans for high-profile players like Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio. Alas, many of the signings made in that time have so far had relatively little effect on the team.

In each of the first two games, the majority of Villa's starting line-up have been at the club for longer than Emery. Given they are mostly the same players to have achieved so much under him, that reflects very well indeed on the manager and his staff, and how much they have improved the players in their charge.

What it says about Villa's recruitment is more complicated. Clearly there have been enormous successes, with Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans top of the list. But many new players have stayed on the fringes, or been shipped back out after scarcely being seen at all.

This analysis may become outdated very quickly. It is entirely possible players like Ian Maatsen and Donyell Malen could become regular and effective starters before long.

Monchi, the key man in Villa's recruitment, has an outstanding reputation from his work at Sevilla. Emery indicated recently that expected departures have taken longer than planned, and Villa have the means and skills to move fast in the final days.

And, of course, players who have performed so well, so often for Emery could soon click back in to gear.

There have been only two games. A good performance at home against Crystal Palace on Sunday would have a useful calming effect in advance of a two-week pause.

But the stumbling start makes this an unusually tense moment in Villa's recent history.

Listen to full commentary of Aston Villa v Crystal Palace at 19:00 on Sunday on BBC Radio WM (all frequencies except online)

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

Explore Aston Villa content on BBC Sounds

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

A proposed expansion to Villa Park has been the subject of several questions to come in via our 'Ask about Aston Villa' form.

Some of you felt the development seemed to have gone quiet despite the club's recent success on the pitch, but the upgrade could move a step closer this week.

Birmingham council's planning committee will consider the North Stand redevelopment proposals as Villa look for the green light to revamp the stadium.

The redevelopment will increase the capacity to over 12,000 in the North Stand and upgrades to the other stands would edge Villa Park's capacity to over 50,000.

The planned work should be completed in the second half of 2027, meaning it will be ready before Euro 2028, with the ground due to be a venue.

The plans include adapting and modernising the existing North Stand, rather than demolishing it, meaning the club will not lose any capacity while the work is ongoing.

West Midlands mayor Richard Parker has also committed to updating Witton Station, with the club hoping to see more higher-capacity trains to cater for about 10,000 fans on a matchday.

Without that, Villa would not be able to go ahead with the project and would need to reassess whether they could be a Euro 2028 host venue.

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David Michael
Fan writer

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Do you really think Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and Uefa wage ratios are solely responsible for Aston Villa's sluggish start to the season?

Bar Emi Martinez's suspension for Newcastle United and Ezri Konsa's for Brentford, the only change to the side in the opening two games to the one that beat Paris St-Germain in last season's Champions League quarter-final second leg, was Ollie Watkins starting instead of Marcus Rashford. This is a strong team - and should be playing like one.

Yes, there are big-picture concerns regarding PSR and Uefa wage caps limiting clubs challenging the top six. But let's be honest, they also exist to protect clubs from themselves.

Since Unai Emery arrived, Villa have had six transfer windows. Of all the arrivals, only Morgan Rogers (£8m initial fee) and Youri Tielemans (free transfer) have been unqualified successes. The jury is still out on £50m record signing Amadou Onana.

Meanwhile, close to £100m has gone on Ian Maatsen, Donyell Malen and Evann Guessand - all benchwarmers so far. Malen and Guessand were brought in to potentially play on the right side, yet this season Emery has persisted with left-footed John McGinn there, disrupting the team's balance and fluidity.

For a side now with reportedly the 12th-highest wage bill in Europe (10th last season) - above both Newcastle and Tottenham – the toothless display against a Brentford team mid-transition, having lost their manager and key players, wasn't about PSR. It was about a team being too predictable, and lacking cohesion and quality.

Supporters had to accept higher prices in the name of PSR compliance, but after seeing how money has been spent, naturally patience thins.

Fans don't want spin. They want a return on their hard-earned cash and at least decent performances.

At the moment, Villa's issues aren't down to regulations - they're down to decisions.

Find more from David Michael at My Old Man Said, external

Aston Villa and Newcastle United supporters chanted together at Villa Park on the opening weekend of the season. They wanted to make their shared feelings known about the Premier League's financial restrictions.

Those supporters, more than any other in the division, feel they have been the victims of the competition's profit and sustainability rules, which they claim protect the 'big six.'

The coarse language deployed left no doubt about their views, and Villa's away fans aired their frustrations again as the team's shaky start to the season continued with a 1-0 defeat by Brentford on Saturday.

Former England striker Alan Shearer said on BBC Match of the Day that Villa are being "hampered" by the rules.

"PSR doesn't sit well with me in terms of what they can and can't spend. Emery has had six windows and they've made a £10m profit," Shearer said.

"PSR wasn't brought in for this situation when they have an owner with money – like Newcastle."

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Brentford and Aston Villa.

Here are some of your comments:

Brentford fans

Ronnie: Brentford played very well. Strange to think this was the same team that looked like they had forgotten how to play at Nottingham Forest. Wasn't pretty at times but the four changes really strengthened the team and great to see Dango Ouattara get his first Brentford goal. Come on, you Bees!

Barry: Nathan Collins was Captain Marvel against Villa. I lost count of the number of headed duels he won. Without him at the back there would have been a different result.

Sarnj: Great game at the Gtech. Brentford played more as a team at home. Kayode, Damsgaard, Henderson, Collins and the rest all got stuck in. They made Villa look average.

Aston Villa fans

Martyn: It's basically the same Villa side that performed pretty well last season and yet two games in they look like a beaten team before a ball is kicked. Rogers has lost the plot and can only assume he's being affected by some of the transfer noise. As good as Emery is, it's all so predictable - he never has a plan B and we desperately need some fresh faces before the window closes. Early days but it's not looking good.

Kevin: Disappointing. The difference between the two performances this season and how we ended last season is night and day - and that difference is Rashford and Asensio.

Allan: You should not be 'disappointed' by the result. That implies that the Villa performance deserved better. It didn't. Villa got what they deserved - nothing. Emery should be disappointed with the performance. Wake up, Emery!

West Ham and Brazil midfielder Lucas Paqueta, 27, is of interest to Aston Villa and Tottenham. (Mail), external

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

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards join host Kelly Cates to bring you the action and talking points from Friday and Sautrday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Brentford 1-0 Aston Villa

• Burnley 2-0 Sunderland

• Arsenal 5-0 Leeds

Timothy Abraham
BBC Sport Journalist

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In contrast to Brentford's direct and up-and-at-them style Aston Villa were largely subdued at the Gtech Community Stadium - leaving Unai Emery with much to ponder.

When faced with a wall of Brentford players, Villa frequently passed the ball sideways or backwards.

Morgan Rogers fired just wide after a counter-attack, while Caoimhin Kelleher saved a low shot from John McGinn before the break.

But Villa had only two shots on target and most of their efforts were speculative at best.

Without real panache or intensity, Villa's endeavour in the final third – set-pieces aside - was snuffed out too easily by the Bees.

If you include the final game of last season, Villa have now gone three Premier League matches without scoring for the first time since July 2020 under Dean Smith.

They last failed to score a single goal across their opening two matches of a top-flight season in the 2002-03 campaign.

In truth, this all felt a little stale, considering Villa finished sixth last season, a whisker away from a Champions League spot.

They need new forward Evann Guessand, who showed a couple of nice touches on his debut, to get up to speed quickly.

Emery will also surely have his eye on at least one more new face to freshen things up before the transfer window closes on 1 September.

Unai Emery spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Aston Villa's defeat against Brentford: "We reacted well to going behind, we created chances but didn't score. There are some things tactically we need to improve. In the first half and second half we had chances to score. We had corners and we had a lot of crosses.

"Yes, it was a clear mistake [for the goal]. We are not like we want. Today we are very disappointed with the result."

On the possibility of more signings he added: "We are going to try and recover first mentally and continue working."

Did you know?

Aston Villa have failed to win either of their opening two games to a Premier League season for the first time since 2019-20, while they last failed to score a single goal across these two matches in 2002-03.

Listen to Emery's chat with BBC radio WM here

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Brentford's performance

What did you make of Aston Villa's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Brentford boss Keith Andrews has handed a first start to Jordan Henderson as he makes four changes following their opening day defeat at Nottingham Forest.

Former Liverpool man Henderson starts in midfield while Mikkel Damsgaard, Kevin Schade and Dango Ouattara are also included.

Rico Henry, Fabio Carvalho, Antoni Milambo and Mathias Jensen all drop to the bench.

Striker Yoane Wissa is absent as speculation continues over his future.

Brentford XI: Kelleher, Van Den Berg, Henderson, Schade, Thiago, Yarmoliuk, Ouattara, Collins, Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Kayode

Subs: Valdimarsson, Hickey, Henry Jensen, Carvalho, Onyeka, Milambo, Ajer, Peart-Harris

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez returns to the starting line-up against the Bees.

The Argentina international missed their Premier League opener against Newcastle but starts in place of Marco Bizot, who kept a clean sheet against the Magpies on his debut.

Villa boss Unai Emery makes one other change with the suspended Ezri Konsa replaced in defence by Pau Torres.

Villa XI: Martinez, Digne, Mings, Torres, Cash, Onana, Kamara, Rogers, Tielemans, McGinn, Watkins

Subs: Bizot, Proctor, Buendia, Malen, Maatsen, Bogarde, Guessand, Rowe, Burrowes

There are five games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Manchester City v Tottenham (12:30)

• Bournemouth v Wolves

• Brentford v Aston Villa - BBC Radio 5 Live

• Burnley v Sunderland - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Arsenal v Leeds (17:30) - BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Brentford under Keith Andrews were really disappointing in their opener, conceding after just a couple of minutes against Nottingham Forest. It doesn't bode well - in fact, I'm worried about Brentford.

They have lost all the goals of Bryan Mbeumo, while they have had this summer's problems with Yoane Wissa.

They still have battle-hardened players with Premier League experience, but they need that first win under their belt to get that real belief in their new head coach.

I thought Aston Villa were really stale against Newcastle. They were lucky to get a point, but I'm going to pick them to bounce back. I think Ollie Watkins will score against his old club.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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Aston Villa defender Alex Moreno has signed for La Liga side Girona for an undisclosed fee.

The 32-year-old was Unai Emery's first signing for the club when he moved to Villa Park from Real Betis for £13.2m in January 2023.

Moreno made 29 appearances in his first full season, including 21 in the Premier League as Villa finished fourth to qualify for the Champions League.

However, he spent last season on loan at Nottingham Forest having falling behind Ian Maatsen and Lucas Digne in the pecking order at Villa and now returns to his native Spain.

Alex Rice
BBC Sport journalist

Brentford host Aston Villa this weekend with both sides seeking a first win of the new campaign.

If you wanted to see goals last season, Brentford's Gtech Stadium was the place to be - 75 Premier League goals were scored there (3.9 per game), the most of any venue.

Brentford scored 40 of them, thanks largely to the outstanding form of top scorer Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, who is Brentford's all-time leading scorer in the Premier League with 45 goals. With Mbeumo now at Manchester United and Wissa keen to move on, Bees fans may not be quite as spoilt this campaign.

Rookie Brentford boss Keith Andrews described his young side's display during last weekend's 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest as "naive", with Forest opening the scoring from a corner five minutes into the new season. The Bees conceded just three times from corners in the entirety of the 2024-25 Premier League campaign when Andrews was set-piece coach.

A consolation goal from Igor Thiago did at least keep Brentford out of the bottom three on goal difference, preserving their proud record of never having been in the Premier League relegation zone.

It was a deflating opening weekend – after a difficult summer – for Aston Villa, too. Unable to refresh the squad because of football's financial rules, they lacked any attacking spark during the goalless draw with Newcastle.

The absence of wingers and decision to push forward 2024-25 player of the season Youri Tielemans into a number 10 role meant Villa lacked guile, with their forward-thinking players starved of service. They failed to even attempt a shot in the first half, while their meagre expected goals tally of 0.20 was the lowest of any Premier League side.

However, manager Unai Emery has repeatedly found ways to get the best out of his Villa side and boasts the fourth-best record in the Premier League since his arrival in October 2022.

One of his immediate challenges will be to address his side's away form. Nine of Villa's 10 league defeats last season came on the road – a statistic that left them in the bottom half of that particular table.

They won away to Brentford though, with a goal from former Bees striker Ollie Watkins, and have scored in all eight meetings between the clubs.

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Brentford at Gtech Community Stadium (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Emery confirmed there were no new injuries after the draw with Newcastle, with goalkeeper Emi Martinez available again and defender Ezri Konsa suspended after his red card last weekend.

• On the absence of Konsa: "He is a very important player. But when we are playing four competitions this year, and hopefully more than 50 matches, we will have circumstances like we have now. Tomorrow, we have enough players and there are another three centre-backs."

• The Villa boss said players "were and are so, so friendly" with Jacob Ramsey, who was sold to Newcastle, after John McGinn and Tyrone Mings' social media comments about the sale: "I wish the best for him [Ramsey] in Newcastle. I really enjoyed the moment we had together. The players' emotions are more close to think about him leaving. When one player is leaving, we always have to accept for different circumstances."

• He added: "There is always three reasons for players when leaving. One is the club, second is the team and the third one is the players. We have to link those three circumstances – the wishes of the club, the wishes of the team and the wishes of the players. Or the needs of the club, players or team. Normally it is getting the objectives with two wishes rather than [just] one."

• On Leon Bailey, who joined Roma on loan this week: "Sometimes we were missing one right-winger. But when he was playing, he was not performing and we were missing something more. Bailey is a fantastic player and he left as he was thinking something [needed] to change for him, expecting better in his career. We extended his contract two years ago because he did fantastic, but last year he did not achieve same performances."

• Emery praised "mature" Morgan Rogers after his PFA Young Player award: "He is showing us as well he can lead playing, and he can lead even in the dressing room. He has the respect of every team-mate we have, and he has the respect as well of all the teams we are facing. Our level is increasing with him, through him - we are being better and we are stronger."

• On the transfer window: "We are involved in it, and the club is working hard to get our structure as strong as possible with the players in the squad, trying to get two players for each position. Still work to do."

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live commentary of Brentford v Aston Villa on Saturday

Catch up on all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

On last night's WM Football Phone-In, BBC Radio WM's Aston Villa pundit Garry Thompson said the next step for the club is to prove they can win something - and it's time to take it.

Villa have reached a Conference League semi-final, a Champions League quarter-final and FA Cup semi-final under Unai Emery over the last two seasons - but a final-day defeat last season cost them another chance in the biggest European competition this time round.

Thompson says they've done very well under Unai Emery but they have to show they can win a trophy soon.

Listen to the show here

Unai Emery's summer business has been restricted by ensuring they stay within financial regulations, and it was with a heavy heart that talented local product Jacob Ramsey was sold to Newcastle United.

Emery still needs reinforcements in attack, hence talk of an interest in Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson, while recruits could arrive in midfield. Whether Villa would meet the suggested £60m price tag for the striker is another matter.

Marco Asensio made an impact on loan at Villa from Paris St-Germain last season, and even though he returned to France, there may be a resurrection of a deal before the deadline.

Read what Phil thinks every club in the Premier League needs