Aston Villa

We asked for your thoughts after Aston Villa's 1-0 friendly loss to Club America.

Here are some of your comments:

Seth: We lost the game and it is not a confidence booster with the start of the Premier League season two weeks away. But hopefully we will see a stronger team play against West Ham. Emery has to lift the squad.

David: Rather than adding to a good team, Profit and Sustainability Rules have forced a complete rebuild on us. That disruption has showed during this tour. The lack of goals is worrying as it leaves us reliant on Ollie Watkins when he returns. We are sorely missing Douglas Luiz's quality in the middle. The Bilbao game should be more of an indicator for the season.

Colin: I am disappointed to be honest. We lacked a cutting edge up front and found ourselves under pressure too often. Keeping the ball is essential but we failed with that. We need more than the missing Watkins, Konsa and Martinez to compete in the Premier League. Unai will solve the puzzle I have no doubt, but give him time!

Andy: I don't think we can judge pre-season games yet as we have not had our best keeper and goal scorer. But what it does prove is how weak we are at the back and going forward without them. We need another keeper as Olsen is not good enough and a centre half as we really missed Konsa and I'm not sure how much longer Mings is going to be out.

Ronan: Again, not Villa's first or best 11,but it shows that we don't have the quality in depth. We had chances but sloppy defending let them score. Emery will need to work his magic before the start of the Premier League season.

Borussia Dortmund lead Chelsea and Aston Villa in the race to sign Hoffenheim's 21-year-old Germany forward Maximilian Beier. (Sky Germany), external

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Aston Villa boss Unai Emery after the defeat to Club America: "It was a great atmosphere. This match in pre-season was to try to find our feet and to show ourselves against America with a lot of Mexican fans here. That was good for the atmosphere and for us to face it.

"We played trying to get fit and to work on things tactically, trying to show with our performance where we’re going with different players. The result was not good, but it gave me a lot of information.

"We lost three matches here and we don’t like it, but we are accepting it because we are in the pre-season and we are trying to get information out of the players.

"Today was a very good test in a great atmosphere. It was like playing away with all the Mexican fans here and they played very well."

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Aston Villa's defeat to Club America means Unai Emery's side have finished their US tour having lost all three matches.

What did you learn from this game, Aston Villa fans?

Let us know your thoughts on the match here, external

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Tributes have been pouring in from those who worked with former Leicester City manager Craig Shakespeare, who has died at the age of 60.

Shakespeare also worked for West Brom, Hull, Everton, Watford, Aston Villa and Norwich and had a spell as England assistant boss in 2016.

Manchester City's Jack Grealish posted a message, external he received from Shakespeare when he was left out of England's Euro 2024 squad alongside a tribute: "One of the greatest people I’ve ever met not only in football but in life. Last month was texting me when I didn’t make the Euros squad while he was ill. It shows the type of man he was! An absolute heart of gold! Everyone really will miss you Shakey."

Manchester United and England defender Harry Maguire wrote, external: "The man who signed me for Leicester, the man who gave me so much belief, the man I learnt so much from. I will be forever grateful. Football will miss you, life will miss you. An incredible man."

Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, external: "I don’t have the words right now. Just gutted. RIP Shakey."

Former Leicester captain Kasper Schmeichel posted, external: "Devastated beyond words. An absolutely fantastic coach, one of the best I have ever seen, but more importantly, an incredible human being. He taught me so much, and I am just thankful to have worked with and known him."

Fellow former Foxes skipper Andy King tweeted, external: "Devastated to hear the passing of Shakey. Not only a brilliant coach but more importantly an amazing person. There through it all on the LCFC journey, none of which could have happened without him. RIP Shakes, thanks for everything."

Aston Villa have reached a deal with Chelsea for Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, but the 31-year-old wants to join Antonio Conte's Napoli. (Il Mattino, in Italian - subscription needed), external

Nottingham Forest are not looking to cash in on 24-year-old English midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, despite interest from Newcastle, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Chelsea. (HITC), external

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

We asked for your thoughts on Aston Villa's 2-0 pre-season friendly defeat to RB Leipzig in New Jersey in which defender Diego Carlos was sent off in the first-half.

Here are some of your responses:

Brenda: Good tough opposition and Carlos receiving a red card did not make things easy. Giving players minutes on the pitch so their ability can be judged is important. Still some hard work to be done.

Paul: Continued from last season, without Martinez we look a different team, although added to that was how toothless in attack we are without Watkins. Villa were caught out by Leipzig's intensity and couldn't get back in the game once Diego Carlos was sent off. With a better referee and VAR it is a different result but few positives to take from it.

Steven: Need another keeper for sure. Not reading too much into these results. Being ready for the first league game is what is important.

Tom: It's a friendly. A glamorous training session. Let's not lose our heads. Although looking at Villa's socials, people already have.

Bergmann: Whatever objectives Emery had for this friendly went straight out the window once Carlos managed to get himself sent off. Not sure we learned much after that.

Charles: Once again, playing out from the back costs us. When will we learn we can't do it and we get caught out?

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Aston Villa manager Unai Emery spoke to the media following the 2-0 defeat by RB Leipzig in a pre-season friendly in New Jersey.

He said: "Today was a match against an opponent of the level we will face in the season. It was a test.

"In the first half, I think we were good, even losing 2-0 due to two mistakes. One goal was a clear offside. After the red card, it was a completely different match.

"The idea after [the sending off] was to get players like Jacob Ramsey and Emi Buendia taking minutes."

On how new signing Amadou Onana is settling into the team: "He is progressively getting better. He's trying to quickly understand our tactical idea and he played some minutes at centre-back.

"Of course he is a player for us to play as a midfielder, but he's competitive and his adaptation is going really well."

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Unai Emery's men suffered their second defeat of their pre-season campaign at the hands of RB Leipzig.

What did you learn from this game, Villa fans?

Let us know your thoughts, external

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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Players like Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund are already suffering from hamstring injuries two weeks before the season even starts - and they say the modern preparation regimes are better, safer and more scientific!

They probably are better. At least the players do not have to go through some of the borderline sadistic routines that previous generations did. Back then, after a decent length of summer break, pre-season meant working incredibly hard over a short period of time to get yourself back in top condition fast.

Sprinting up and down gigantic sand dunes against the clock until many players were physically sick was de rigueur, alongside other road runs and track work.

Here is the weird part: I used to look forward to that, the way a class swot looks forward to exams. Being smaller, lighter and a committed long-distance runner all my young life, even before I became a pro footballer, it was, if not exactly a piece of cake, then certainly much easier for me than most of the rest of the team.

I have asked many modern managers what they would prefer to do in a perfect world during their pre-season. The most common answer is "just about anything other than what we are forced to do now!"

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Aston Villa and Chelsea have submitted offers for 21-year-old Bayer Leverkusen and Germany forward Maximilian Beier. (Sky Germany), external

Meanwhile, Villa are also interested in 27-year-old Crystal Palace and France striker Jean-Philippe Mateta. (Express), external

Want more transfer news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

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Pat Nevin, former Chelsea, Everton and Scotland winger writing in his Football Extra newsletter:

The pre-season friendlies are in full swing and let's be straight about this, the players generally hate these games, whatever they say.

They clearly haven't had enough rest in the summer, it is a grind getting your body back into peak shape, especially if the accumulated injuries from last season haven’t been allowed to fully recover.

The games themselves are weird affairs, where you would like to win but that is nowhere near the most important thing. Fitness, integrating new players, possibly a new manager and sometimes a new system are each more important. You also know full well that it is a hotch-potch of a team selection to give players minutes. The fans, mass media and social media will read far too much into every game and every performance.

From within the team itself, there are different motivations. A young or new player being given his first chance will be racing about like an overexcited spaniel. Other experienced players will be easing themselves back into it, the primary concern in their minds is to be fit and healthy come the first weekend of the Premier League season.

‌Deep down they don't worry if they get thumped by Celtic or DC United on their US tours, nobody at Chelsea or Aston Villa will remember or care about these results in two weeks' time.

‌Unless of course you are a DC or indeed Celtic fan. The Celts just beat Chelsea and Man City. Now that is impressive pre-season form or is that just Scottish bias.

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We asked for your views on Aston Villa's 4-1 loss to Columbus Crew during the club's trip to the United States.

Here are some of your comments:

Matt: Lots of new faces playing together competitively for the first time and missing arguably our best three players in Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and Emi Martinez, not to mention our captain Super John McGinn! No need to hit the panic button yet, but we're going to have to go through the gears quickly if we're going to get up to Premier League speed by mid-August.

Ian: Not a great result. But of the team that started, there were probably only three players that would be definite first-team starters. Columbus are already well into their season and obviously looked much sharper. On a plus side, how wonderful to see Emi Buendia back.

Lee: The match was about new players getting minutes and returning players from long-term injuries. Villa played with youth team keepers and clearly they need to work on starting positions for a high line tactic. Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen and Buendia came through with good returns or debuts. The scoreline flattered a fitter, more cohesive team.

Andy: Great to see Buendia get 30 minutes. Morgan Rogers was by far the best player on the pitch and he is going to have an important role this season. Playing the high line caught us out for the goals . Columbus are a good team so a good run-out for the players. Great stadium and fans made us welcome. There was a good turnout for Villa too.

Aston Villa have submitted a loan offer for Manchester City's 28-year-old England midfielder Kalvin Phillips. (Football Insider), external

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Aston Villa boss Unai Emery says Emi Buendia's comeback from injury is the "best news".

Villa were beaten on their pre-season tour in the United States as they lost 4-1 to Columbus Crew during a game in which midfielder Buendia made his return from a long-term knee injury.

Buendia, who had been sidelined since sustaining a knee ligament injury last August, came on with Amadou Onana and Ian Maatsen, who were making their first Villa appearances since signing for the club this summer, after 63 minutes with their side already 4-1 down.

"The best news is his comeback," said Emery after the match. "Emiliano Buendia's comeback after one year.

"We are happy with his return and we have to work now with him trying to get the best of him progressively.

"The first 30 minutes he played, really, is fantastic for us and for the team."

Cucho Hernandez scored twice for Columbus before Cameron Archer pulled one back.

Hernandez completed his hat-trick and Dylan Chambost put the Major League Soccer side side 4-1 up.

"Of course, the result is not good but, for us, now the result is not the most important," added the Spaniard.

"Most important is to build a team, get information about the players, and this was the first match for some players, and they played well. Even losing, they played well."

Aston Villa's pre-season tour of the USA is under way, but what did you learn from their 4-1 defeat by Columbus Crew?

Let us know your thoughts, external

David Lockwood
BBC Sport Editorial Sustainability Lead

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Los Angeles or Chesterfield? San Diego or Salford?

The pre-season destinations of 20 Premier League clubs may be varied, but the issue remains the same - the impact of so many flights.

Half (10) of the clubs have flown to the United States for friendlies; three have travelled to the Far East and the rest are in Europe and the UK.

Manchester United's pre-season schedule see them flying almost 13,000 miles playing fixtures in Norway, Scotland, and across the US. Chelsea and Tottenham are also expected to fly in excess of 12,000 miles.

In contrast, Everton will fly the least, with just one fixture outside the UK in the Republic of Ireland.

Spurs and Newcastle also played an exhibition fixture in May - three days after the season finished - for which they both flew to Melbourne, Australia, a game Alan Shearer described as “madness”. Add in those air miles and both teams will have travelled in excess of 30,000 air miles in the close-season, equivalent to more than once around the globe, to play in non-competitive matches.

Newcastle and Spurs both have a target to be Net Zero by 2030, while Manchester United and Chelsea are in process of establishing an emissions reduction plan.

Net Zero requires the reduction and removal of all 'non-essential emissions' - so are these games essential?

Wycombe's David Wheeler is a leading sustainability campaigner in football and told BBC Sport: "These games are only necessary in the sense that the clubs want to make more money and grow their fan base".

He added: "The vast majority of players don't want to be away from their families, they don't want to be travelling around the world after a full slog of a season. They're overworked and injuries have gone through the roof, so there is a synergy between player welfare and planetary welfare."

An estimated travelling group of 30 flying 12,864 air miles business class generates around 200 tonnes of CO2 - the equivalent of 500,000 miles driven by an average petrol car, or the entire annual emissions for a year of 16 people in the UK.

Tottenham said it is "committed to minimising its environmental impact" in all its operations, "which will take time and effort". The club says it "ensures" all teams travel "as sustainably as possible throughout the season". It "measures, manages and reports on travel emissions" and will offsets "where possible."

Read more about the Premier League's pre-season air miles here

West Ham are considering an improved offer for Jhon Duran, with Aston Villa holding out for £40m for the 20-year-old Colombia striker. (Standard), external

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