Aston Villa were handed a major boost on Tuesday as Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins reported back for pre-season training.
The trio were given an extended break after their involvement in international tournaments earlier this summer, and so they subsequently missed the first five games of our pre-season schedule.
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It’s been a gradual process for Villa in the last few weeks given the number of internationals in the current squad, with the likes of John McGinn and Youri Tielemans linking up with the rest of the group during our time in the USA, as did new signings Amadou Onana and Ian Maatsen.
However, as seen in the images below, Martinez, Konsa and Watkins were all back at Bodymoor Heath this week as they rejoined the rest of their teammates, and they will now step up their respective preparations ahead of the new Premier League season getting underway on August 17.
Naturally, they will be playing catch up at this stage regardless of what individual work they might have done in recent weeks, and it’s hoped that they’re ready to get valuable minutes in our remaining pre-season games against Athletic Bilbao and Borussia Dortmund this week to get back up to speed.
Nevertheless, just to have them back in the squad and to give everyone a lift as we edge closer to the start of a new campaign will be vital, with their leadership and ability to lead by example key in driving up standards and satisfying the demands that Unai Emery puts on his players.
While Martinez returning to his spot between the posts will give us an important lift, our struggles defensively and with scoring goals during our pre-season tour in the USA makes Konsa and Watkins returning even more significant, as we wait to see what further transfer business the club have planned in this window.
Emery will no doubt be delighted to have an almost full strength squad at his disposal to continue to work on implementing and perfecting his ideas and principles, but there is still a sense that Villa must improve the squad with additional signings this summer to ensure we’re as competitive as possible.
For the time being though, it’s great to see our influential trio back in training, and with Tyrone Mings expected to resume group work this week too, it’s hoped Boubacar Kamara continues to make progress in his recovery as we hopefully will have a full squad available to Emery in the coming months and for the majority of the season.
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Great to see Emi Martinez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins back in training. Hopefully ready to get valuable minutes in our last two friendlies as they catch up with the rest of the squad.#avfc #UTV pic.twitter.com/fRhw2WWF6i
— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) August 6, 2024
