Aston Villa are monitoring Borussia Dortmund and Germany winger Karim Adeyemi, 22, who has also attracted interest from Juventus and Chelsea. (Mail), external
West Ham have made a £30m bid and offered 18-year-old midfielder Lewis Orford in a move to sign Villa and Colombia striker Jhon Duran. (Athletic - subscription required), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column
Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter
Image source, Getty ImagesIt isn't quiet in one specific part of the major football clubs - the acquisitions department.
I know that because I was once the acquisitions department - well me and the manager mostly. While each player returned from holidays like a bronzed Adonis, we were cooped up in a small darkened room, beavering the daylight hours away like vampires.
There is plenty of guesswork in the media and a fair bit of leaking from the players and their people, but the clubs usually try to keep their transfer moves as quiet as possible.
If word gets out that a player is available, they know they might lose him to another club or else the price will increase as a bidding war erupts.
These are high stakes games and many are impressed by those who gamble and go early.
Manchester City have always been good enough, and let's be honest wealthy enough, to be able to do this well.
The problem is that some clubs are trying to do the same thing and are ending up paying top dollar for less able players, because they haven't done their due diligence in the market.
This is another area where the use of data, or maybe over-reliance on pure data, comes into play - feed all of the numbers in, let the technology do the crunching, and out comes the answer.
The problem is that everyone else has got the same or similar data.
What is needed, of course, is good human knowledge and the vision to aid the use of the information they have got. This is why these departments should be busy just now, they shouldn't just be doing deals which are admittedly very complex legal and financial documents these days.
Even more time should be spent on ensuring the new £75m player hasn't got a hidden weakness in his game or even the odd skeleton in his closet.
Pat Nevin was writing for the BBC Football Extra Newsletter
Image source, Aston VillaAston Villa have released their home kit for the new season, which they say will mark the club's landmark 150th anniversary.
It is the first kit created for the Villains by new kit supplier Adidas and features a "special 'AV 150' symbol in elegant calligraphy" on the nape of the neck.
The new club crest will feature on the shirt, with an '1874' sign-off, but the traditional claret shirt and sky blue sleeves have been kept.
It will be worn with white shorts and signature blue socks.
Fans will get the chance to see the new kit in action on Saturday, 27 July when Aston Villa begin their USA pre-season tour against Columbus Crew.
After Amadou Onana completed his £50m move from Everton to Aston Villa on Monday, we asked you to have your say on the new signing.
Here are a selection of your comments:
Andy: I think £50m is a ridiculous price but maybe Unai Emery can work his magic and make him meet his full potential.
Inca: Just what we needed. Been crying out for a tall, box-to-box midfielder since Ian Taylor and George Boateng. Emery will also improve him. With the full-backs pushing on, we need that added security. Good signing.
Mark: I think it's a great signing for the club. Has great energy and will be a good shield for the back four. He will obviously replace Douglas Luiz. We will still need to replace Moussa Diaby when he moves to Saudi [and] hopefully with Joao Felix too. Exciting times ahead for Villa.
Tim: Selling Douglas Luiz for £42m and then buying Onana for £50m makes absolutely no sense. Everton will be laughing their way to the bank with all the money Villa have earned from the Champions League!
David: He was good in patches for Everton. The problem with him was he attracted too many bookings which left him less effective for the remainder of the game.
Slobodan Maricic
BBC Serbia journalist
Image source, Getty ImagesIf you asked Red Star Belgrade's management what the rarest items in the world are, they might mention four-leaf clovers, pearls from the bottom of the ocean, diamonds... and right-backs.
For years, the Serbian champions have been having problems in finding any optimal solution for that position. In the end, and as often happens, the person was right in front of their nose - in the form of 18-year-old Kosta Nedeljkovic from the club's academy.
Before the start of 2023-24 season, after six months at Graficar - Red Star's development side in the Serbian second tier, Nedeljkovic became part of the first-team squad.
The media was very soon describing him as "the most talented Serbian right-back", mostly because of his endurance and speed.
In one game, Nedeljkovic clocked a speed of 36.4km/h, which is in the range of some world-class players like Kylian Mbappe - though crossing is still something he needs to work on.
Last season, Nedeljkovic and Red Star played in the Champions League against RB Leipzig, Young Boys and Manchester City, where he made a good impression.
"[Manuel] Akanji was the first one who approached me after the match and joked something along the lines of: 'Hey, kid, who are you? You're really good,'" said Nedeljkovic afterwards.
And that is why, after only 12 matches in red and white - despite club officials saying he would be staying in Belgrade - the defender joined Aston Villa for 9m euros (7.6m), one of the biggest transfers in Red Star's history.
Nedeljkovic described meeting Villa boss Unai Emery and fellow right-back Matty Cash as a very tense experience - "like when you have a maths test and you didn't prepare well" - perhaps a reminder of how young he still is.
The teenager spent the rest of the last campaign with Red Star, winning the Serbian league and cup double.
He ended up missing much of it with an injury and that is probably the reason he is yet to be called up to the senior Serbia squad.
Watch this space!
Aston Villa will try to replace Moussa Diaby with 24-year-old Atletico Madrid and Portugal forward Joao Felix. (Sun), external
Diaby is expected to complete his move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad next week. (Talksport), external
Meanwhile, Villa are willing to sell right-back Matty Cash this summer. (Football Insider), external
Image source, Getty ImagesWe asked for your views after Aston Villa's 3-0 friendly win at Spartak Trnava.
Here are some of your responses:
Mossy: Two games, two wins, no goals conceded - got to be happy with that. Great to see the mix of senior and junior players all getting game time under the watchful eye of the maestro Unai Emery. Plenty of other players to come back as well.
Steve: Great to see everyone getting minutes and lots of young talent on show for Unai to run the rule over. Off to the USA 🇺🇸 now for more competitive games. Hopefully the whole squad meet up there and begin to gel. It's a really exciting season ahead for the Villa. I'm loving the pace we have added so far.
Kam: Morgan Rogers will be the standout player for Villa this season. He'll be doing his cold celebration more than Cole Palmer will!
David: Rogers looked really sharp and Kaine Kesler-Hayden impressed too. We'll need another playmaker now Douglas Luiz has gone to cover/compete with Ross Barkley.
Bernie: Not the strongest opposition. More about getting players fit. Let's not get carried away.
Aston Villa are preparing to sell 31-year-old defender Lucas Digne. (Football Insider), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Sunday's full gossip column
Image source, Getty ImagesMorgan Rogers was on the scoresheet again - his third goal in two pre-season games - as Aston Villa won 3-0 at Slovakian side Spartak Trnava on Saturday.
Leon Bailey curled in the opener in the first half before Rogers' 53rd-minute strike doubled the advantage.
Cameron Archer rounded off the scoring late on for Unai Emery's side.
What did you learn from the game, Villa fans?
We asked for your views on the re-signing of Jadon Philogene from Hull City and Villa's summer business so far.
The signing of Philogene and the expected transfer of Amadou Onana From Everton will take Villa's spending to around £140m.
Douglas Luiz was sold to Juventus for £42m in June which eased fears about breaching profit and sustainability rules.
Here are some of your responses:
Simon: Philogene was only sold because of profit and sustainability rules; Emery always rated him but because of PSR we’ve had to pay Hull £13.5m to develop him for a season. Hull did a great job and I expect we’ll do more business with them in the future.
Carlos: Very happy and excited that Philogene is back 'home'. Without the sometimes crazy FFP rules, he would have gone to Hull on loan. But maybe that deal saved us point deduction last time around and hence CL qualification. Onana feels like when we bought Luiz. Loads of potential, but still a big gamble especially at £45m albeit he has PL experience.
Kevin: There’s a big gap left by the Luiz transfer and maybe another if Diaby goes as well. The transfers to date give us good bench strength and I would like to see the first XI get a real boost. I am concerned we have lost more than gained for now.
Bob: Luiz will be a big loss let's hope that Kamara and Buendia are soon fit to play again. These PSR rules are crazy I thought it was madness last season to sell the promising academy players and now buying some of them back. Bonkers.
Gary: Aston Villa are going to find it hard this season playing in the Champions League now. We all know how good Unai is at getting teams ready for European football and then back to basics a few days later but we need a few more signings and maybe a marquee singing. Maybe Chiesa or Morata, or let's think big and go get Nico Williams since Diaby is gone.
Image source, Getty ImagesIt seems inevitable a host of Premier League managers will point to fixture congestion in the months to come.
When injuries mount, or when time on the training ground is squeezed, coaches often reference the intense nature of the calendar.
But research conducted by the respected CIES Football Observatory has delivered data which shows clubs are - on average - not playing more competitive games than they have in the last couple of decades.
The CIES looked at 677 clubs across 40 leagues. In looking at a period from 2012 to 2024, its findings show in 2023-24, the average club played 42.4 competitive matches. In 2014-15 that figure was 42.6 and in 2020-21 it hit 43.9.
And if focus is placed on sides competing in the Champions League, data gathered between 2000 and 2024 also shows sides are not setting fixture records in the current game, as some managers may like to loosely imply.
In looking at the five major European Leagues, the CIES claim Champions League competitors played an average of 50.8 matches last season.
In 2020-21 they averaged 57.9 and in 2002-03 they contested 55.2.
Manchester United played in 52 competitive games last season, down from highs of 71 in 2020-21 and 66 in 2008-09.
Across all of the clubs analysed, only 4% played more than 60 games last season. In 2012-13, the figure stood at 5.1%.
While clubs may play added friendlies and - it would be fair to say - individual matches tend to be longer given increased injury time in the current game, the data shows that competitive fixture numbers are flat or have in most cases fallen, even if disgruntled managers say otherwise.
Image source, Getty ImagesJaden Philogene on re-joining Aston Villa: “It feels amazing, it’s like I’m back at home.
“Unai spoke to me face-to-face and we had a very good conversation about my playing time.
“He said I did well when I was here in pre-season last year and that I’m going to get chances this time. It also depends on me and how I play.
“It’s the latest chapter in my Villa journey and hopefully I can play my best, get game time and do it in front of the fans.
“What I did at Hull, I want to do the same things at Villa Park; make the fans aware of my skills and score goals.
“It’s a dream come true. When I was a little boy I wanted to play in the Champions League. I’ve always thought I want to be there one day and here I am.”
The deal - and the potential signing of Amadou Onana - will take Villa's spending to around £140m this summer. So are you happy with the business? Tell us here, external
Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter
Aston Villa have re-signed England Under-21 winger Jaden Philogene from Hull - less than 12 months after selling him to the Tigers.
The 22-year-old has penned a five-year contract after Villa more than matched Ipswich's £18m offer.
Yet Hull will not get all of the cash due to the 30 per cent sell on inserted in the deal which took him to the Tigers, meaning they will bank around £13.5m.
Villa are also close to the signing of £50m Everton midfielder Amadou Onana.
Philogene made six appearances, but just one start, for Villa after coming through the club's academy and had loans spells at Stoke and Cardiff.
Everton also wanted the wideman while Crystal Palace were interested but decided a deal was too expensive.
The signing of Philogene and the expected transfer of Onana will take Villa's spending this summer to around £140m.
Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling-Junior have joined from Juventus, Ross Barkley made a £5m move from Luton and winger Lewis Dobbin also joined from Everton for £9m last month.
Douglas Luiz was sold to Juve for £42m in June which eased fears about breaching profit and sustainability rules.
Are you pleased with Villa's summer business? Tell us here, external
Following Aston Villa's 3-0 win over Walsall, we asked you to have your say on the pre-season friendly.
Here are a selection of your comments:
Joly: Team looked fresh and great to see some good play from the new signings with an assist for Barkley and Enzo. Excited for the season ahead!
Jon: Enzo Barrenechea looks an accomplished player - calm, relaxed and his range of passing was excellent. One to watch this season, for sure!
Chrissy: Too early to give the result much deeper thought other than the scoring efforts of Rogers. Hopefully the others, especially Barkley, can start to fit in more to Emery's style. Still can't underestimate the loss of Luiz... Let's see after the first five league matches then.
Isaac: Kosta Ndeljkovik, Rogers and Barrenechea were standout performers. Barkley was very sloppy and the youngsters didn't do much. Watch out Spartak!
Graham: Rogers is a star. We brushed aside Walsall at a canter. Emery's system is well and truly bedded in - we look slick already. So excited for this season. I struggle to pick a first XI such is the depth in the squad.
Image source, Getty ImagesMorgan Rogers netted twice and Louie Barry was also on the scoresheet as Aston Villa started their pre-season with a 3-0 win at League Two Walsall.
What did you learn from the short trip to Bescott Stadium?
Birmingham City are interested in Aston Villa forward Louie Barry. (Football Insider, external)
Everton's 22-year-old Belgium midfielder Amadou Onana is set to complete his move to Villa Park by this weekend. (Sky Sports, external)
Villa still owe Bayer Leverkusen over half the money they paid for 25-year-old French winger Moussa Diaby, who is close to joining Al-Ittihad. (Football Insider, external)
Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column
Aston Villa are preparing to compete with Chelsea and Barcelona for 22-year-old Athletic Bilbao and Spain winger Nico Williams. (Teamtalk), external
Villa want £60m from Al-Ittihad if they are to sell forward Moussa Diaby to the Saudi Pro League club. (Talksport), external
Meanwhile, Chelsea's Cole Palmer has attempted to persuade England team-mate Ollie Watkins to move to Stamford Bridge this summer. (Football Insider), external
Want more transfer news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column
