Unai Emery will be eager to right Aston Villa’s pre-season wrongs before the start of the 2024/25 campaign.

Pre-season is a time to learn what requires improvement in a squad before the competitive action begins.

At Aston Villa, the summer was presumed to be going swimmingly as Monchi and Unai Emery made their presence in the transfer market known.

Further down the line, pre-season flagged a host of concerns that fans will want to see solved before the Premier League opener against West Ham. 

Fortunately, time is on Villa’s side in the transfer window and in some ways on the pitch, as Emery has outlined the importance of his squad’s remaining two friendlies.

Unai Emery looks ahead to having key players return after US pre-season tour lows

Villa’s pre-season schedule got off to an encouraging start, as the Villans beat both League Two side Walsall and Slovakian outfit Spartak Trnava 3-0.

The two results seem long ago following the squad’s pre-season tour of the United States, which went far from desired for Emery.

In the States, Villa lost all three of the games they competed in, conceding seven goals and scoring just once against Columbus Crew, RB Leipzig and Club America.

Speaking after the defeat to Club America, Emery turned his thoughts to the final two games in pre-season that await Villa, relayed by BirminghamLive. 

“We are preparing to start our season in two weeks, progressively the level is getting better and we play another two matches next week.

“We are thinking about how we can build a team and progressively get the performances collectively like we want. There are players joining us next week, four important players.

“Some players joined us last week and are progressively playing more. We are not in our best moment of pre-season, but it’s normal.”

Having key players back is crucial for Aston Villa

The results and scorelines that came during the United States pre-season tour were far less concerning than the level of performance evident. 

In pre-season, results are incredibly unpredictable however, how a squad plays is a good indicator of what requires improvement.

Against Club America, Villa struggled to create, showing Emery the void that lies between the deeper areas of midfield and the front line.  

With the likes of Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and Emi Martinez set to return promptly, arguably, the final two friendlies will be a better indicator than all the action this summer. 

Last season, Villa fans saw just how instrumental the trio were to ensuring progression was seen at Villa Park, with their absence alarming during pre-season.

Emery will have a much stronger side available to him for the two remaining non-competitive matches, as many will hope to see a better indication of where Villa really are ahead of the season opener against West Ham.

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