Aston Villa summer signing Moussa Diaby has joined his teammates for training for the first time ahead of our encounter with Fulham on Wednesday night.
Villa face Marco Silva’s side in the second of our pre-season outings as part of the Premier League Summer Series in the USA, having secured a 3-3 draw with Newcastle Utd on Sunday night.
Sign up for the new Talk Villa newsletter, your free weekly Villa round-up delivered straight to you!
Unai Emery is expected to rotate and ensure his squad all get valuable minutes this week to get our fitness levels to where they need to be ahead of our league opener against the Magpies on August 12, and this will be another good test for us as we get used to playing at a high tempo and intensity again.
Speaking to Sky Sports/Peacock prior to kick-off at the weekend, Emery was asked about his thoughts on Diaby, and he revealed that the 24-year-old would join full training on Monday with the rest of the squad, and that he would most likely be available for selection against Fulham.
As per the club’s tweet below, Diaby has indeed now been put through his paces after taking part in his first training session in Orlando, and now it remains to be seen if he comes straight into the starting XI, or the more probable option of being named on the bench and getting minutes in the latter stages in midweek.
Either way, it will not only be exciting to see our new signing in action and to see how well he’s settling in, but it’s vital for him to get on the pitch with his new teammates to build chemistry and understanding as quickly as possible.
The French international adds a brilliant new dynamic to our attack, and given our style of play and system coupled with his pace in and out of possession, creativity and eye for goal, it should help make us a more potent outfit.
In turn, it’s a crucial boost that he’s made the trip to the USA as quickly as he has after his move was confirmed, as it now gives Emery and the players as much time as possible to get used to him, and vice-versa, as we hope they can hit the ground running and Diaby’s influence is immediate.
Should the Fulham game come too soon for Diaby, Villa face Brentford on Sunday, while we’ll take on Lazio and Valencia on our return from the USA as well and so there will be plenty of opportunities to see him in action.
Moussa Cam. 👀
All eyes on @MoussaDiaby_19 during his first session with the group in Orlando. ⚡ pic.twitter.com/H0WQCcRpPi
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) July 25, 2023