Premier League team guide: Aston Villa in the spotlight

Unai Emery takes charge of his first full season as Aston Villa boss after his transformative effect since being appointed last October.

Villa were above the relegation zone on goals scored when Steven Gerrard was fired but Emery eventually lifted the Midlanders to a seventh-place finish — securing a spot in the Europa Conference League.

After a summer of eye-catching additions in the transfer market, the ambitious Villans hope they will be a threat in both the Premier League and Europe in 2023-24. 

Last season: Seventh

When Gerrard was dismissed just 11 league games into the season, few fans would have predicted that they would be celebrating European qualification at the end of the campaign.

That is largely down to the work of ex-Arsenal and Villarreal boss Emery, who proved the man finally capable of getting a tune out of Villa's talented crop of stars.

That only Manchester City picked up more points than the Villans in 2023 is a marker of their sensational form during the back end of the campaign.

New faces

Villa needed to bolster the depth of their squad to deal with a potentially packed schedule and they have done so with some high-quality additions.

Central midfielder Youri Tielemans was the first through the door, making a switch across the Midlands following Leicester's relegation.

The highly-rated Pau Torres joins a stacked set of centre-backs that already includes Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa and Diego Carlos.

French international Moussa Diaby has made the move from Bayer Leverkusen and should provide some welcome support to last season's 15-goal striker Ollie Watkins.

One to watch: Jaden Philogene

Injuries to certain attackers has presented an opportunity for Jaden Philogene to stake a claim in pre-season and he has grasped that chance with both hands.

The 21-year-old winger has spent the last season-and-a-half on loan at Stoke and Cardiff and another temporary switch looked nailed on as Villa spent big in the summer window.

But having impressed from the start in all four of Villa's pre-season games so far and even notching a goal, it would now be a surprise not to see Philogene part of Emery's first-team fold.

The boss: Unai Emery

Perhaps unfairly labelled a failure at Arsenal, Emery returned to England with the task of proving some doubters wrong despite his proven track record elsewhere.

He has certainly done that, with a host of Villa's stars going from strength to strength under his tutelage.

A meticulous and detailed-orientated coach, the 51-year-old has the added challenge of European football to contend with in 2023-24.

But that is something the four-time Europa League winner has plenty of experience of dealing with previously.

Information correct as of July 31, 2023