DEADLINE DAY - Florin Tanase joins United from AC Milan for £20m, Richairo Zivkovic leaves Chelsea for Hoffenheim for £15.5m, and Liverpool have spent £7.25m on Bournemouth's Wesley Hoedt #9HoursRemain
DEADLINE DAY - Akhmetzyanov joins Villa for £22.5m, Karavaev swaps CSKA for Tottenham in a £15.5m deal, whilst Danny Ings has moved from Swansea to Everton for £4.1m #6HoursRemain #92millSpent
DEADLINE DAY - And the window slams shut! Martial's move from United to Real is the biggest of the window at £34m, and City have splashed a massive £85m #DeadlineDay
Despite the first team stalling somewhat at the start of the season, the Young Villains appear to have picked up where they left off.
Who's up next?
We start this month by looking at a second year scholar. Urko Soto is a Spanish-Basque defender, who joined Villa from Real Sociedad feeder side Berio. The 18 year old central defender has shown lots of promise since joining the Villains, and will hope the upcoming campaign could be his breakout season. Soto is strong, dominating aerial challenges, and a great man marker, who has represented Spain at Under 19 level.
Next up we will look at Jonas Martinsson, who is about to start his first full season with the club. Martinsson joined Villa from IF Elfsborg in January 2020, and spent a month on loan with Fulham in the Championship. The 18 year old Swedish Under 21 midfielder is an incredibly promising talent, who possesses great pace and wonderful technical attributes, as well as being a talented dead ball specialist. Martinsson will find himself on the fringes of the first team this season, and will hope to compete alongside Galego for a chance with the Villain's main team.
Following the closing of the transfer window, the squads for the Premier League and Champions League campaigns for the upcoming season have been submitted to the relevant governing bodies.
As per the rules and regulations of the competitions, the squad is required to meet certain criteria.
Premier League Squad Number List 1. Timo Horn (Vice-Captain)
2. Calum Chambers
3. Jorge
4. Julián Fernández
5. Emanuel Mammana
6. José Giménez
7. Jack Grealish
8. Henri Lansbury (3rd Captain)
9. Mauro Icardi
10. Christian Pulisic
11. Lincoln
12. John Ruddy
14. Abdelhak Nouri
15. Lewis Cook (Club Captain)
18. Easah Suliman
21. Ángel Correa 26. Andrew Robertson
Premier League Squad - Under 21 Players 13. Franjo Cirjak 16. Eivind Ruud
17. Rafael Akhmetzyanov
19. Jorge Ortega
20. Jasper van de Kamp
22. Sergio Rodríguez
23. Andy Bühlbecker
24. Eivind Ruud
27. Denis Salla Gil (Denis)
28. Wisley Jakobs (Galego)
32. Rune Vleminckx
34. Drew Oates
35. Luís Carlos
37. Jonas Martinsson
UEFA Champions League Squad The club are required to meet the following criteria for the upcoming Champions League campaign; the squad must be no more than 25 registered players, it should include at least 4 club-trained players, and 8 association-trained players. Players under the age of 20 on 1/1/2020 are eligible to play, and are registered on List B.
List A
1. Timo Horn
2. Calum Chambers (AT)
3. Jorge
4. Julián Fernández
5. Emanuel Mammana
6. José Giménez
7. Jack Grealish (CT)
9. Mauro Icardi 10. Christian Pulisic
11. Lincoln (CT)
12. John Ruddy (AT)
13. Franjo Cirjak
14. Abdelhak Nouri
15. Lewis Cook (AT)
16. Eivid Ruud
17. Rafael Akhmetzyanov
18. Easah Suliman (CT)
19. Jorge Ortega
20. Jasper van de Kamp (CT)
21. Ángel Correa
22. Sergio Rodríguez (AT) 26. Andrew Robertson
27. Denis Salla Gil (Denis) 28. Wisley Jakobs (Galego)
37. Jonas Martinsson
List B 23. Andy Bühlbecker (CT)
32. Rune Vleminckx
33. Drew Oates
35. Luís Carlos
38. Daniel Janda
51. Stephen Coates
55. Josh Bennett
The draw for the Champions League will see Aston Villa compete in Group D, and face off against Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, and Crevna Zvezda.
Breaking News: The club are delighted to announce the signing of Jonny Evans on a free transfer. The 32 year old recently left Chelsea, and joins the club until the end of the season, with the option of a further year #JonnytheVillain
The fortune of the first team seems to be improving with recent results, and the success of the Young Villains continues as they march on.
Who's up next?
We start this month by looking at a second year scholar, and a young defender who found success with the Under 18 side last season, and will test himself in the Under 21 league in this campaign. Having spent a season with btoh IF Elfsborg and IFK Göteborg in his native Sweden, Jonas Peterson joined Villa in the Summer of 2019. He had already made his professional debut for Göteborg in the Europa League, starting two games for the Swedish giants, before making the move to Aston Villa. Capable of playing in the middle or on the left of defence, the 18 year old has been capped by the Swedish Under 19 side. A tremendous marker, with phenomenal tackling ability, Peterson was part of the Young Villain side who won the UEFA Youth League.
The next player under our spotlight is Serbian Under 21 international Željko Pavić. The Beograd born midfielder agreed a deal with Aston Villa at the age of 17, but was prevented from joining the club until he turned 18. Having started his career at Partizan Belgrade, he made his professional debut aged just 17 years old. He went on to make 5 appearances for Crno-beli, and 2 further appearances for FK Teleoptik Zemun. He joined Villa with a reputation for being one of the biggest talents in European football, and played twice for Serbia during this Summer's Olympic Games. A defensive midfielder, with an excellent work rate and engine, Pavić could prove to be a bargain at just £750k. He has joined the successful Young Villains set up, but with Clark giving him the number 33 shirt, don't be surprised to see his name on the team sheet at some point this season.
Breaking News: @lansburyhenri makes his return to the first team after 3 months out with a slipped disc, as he makes the bench for our league game vs @Arsenal #AVFCvAFC
Injury News: Lincoln becomes latest Villain to be ruled out with serious injury (6 months) after breaking his leg vs. Wolves. Joins Correa (broken ankle - 6 weeks), Evans (broken angle - 5 weeks), van der Kamp (dislocated jaw - 4 weeks), and Grealish (Achilles tendon - 10 weeks)
Sky Sources suggest Emanuel Mammana has expressed an interest in joining Manchester United when the window opens, whilst Arsenal are reportedly interested in Timo Horn #2021TransferWindow
Clark confirms that Jan Roduner and Galego have been promoted to the first team to help cover the injury crisis. Insists the club will not panic buy in January
Valencia vs. Manchester United
Lyon vs. Real Madrid
Tottenham vs. Dynamo Kyiv
Atlético vs. Juventus
Feyenoord vs. FC Barcelona
Dinamo vs. Aston Villa
Celtic vs. FC Bayern
PSG vs. Schalke
Monthly Preview - January