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Aston Villa

Latest updates

  1. 'I'm sure next season will be our best yet' - Mings signs new Villa dealpublished at 14:22 4 June

    Tyrone Mings in action for Aston VillaImage source, Getty Images

    Tyrone Mings has thanked Aston Villa fans for their "unwavering " as the club confirmed the defender has signed a one-year contract extension.

    The 32-year-old centre-back has made 180 appearances for the Villans since ing for £20m from Bournemouth in 2019.

    "We've had quite the journey," said Mings. who returned from a long-term knee injury in January, on his time at Villa Park so far.

    "My belief that we can achieve something extra special is stronger than ever.

    "I thank the fans, the manager, the staff and the players for their unwavering , both on and off the pitch, through one of the toughest periods of my career.

    "I'm sure next season will be our best one yet."

  2. What if... the season was about what happens when you concede first?published at 08:20 4 June

    Nicola Pearson
    BBC Sport journalist

    Graphic showing top six table when conceding first:

Pos Team              P     GD  PTS
1	Brighton	17	-11	20
2	Liverpool	13	6	19
3	Man City	14	-4	19
4	Newcastle	20	-15	19
5	Fulham	        16	-5	18
6	Aston Villa	14	-12	18

    As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...

    "We never do it the easy way."

    Something muttered by many a football fan as they watch their side go 1-0 down again.

    As frustrating as it can be watching from the stands or on the TV, it is a position some teams thrive in.

    Luring the opposition into a false sense of security, it is almost as though they do not get going until they have given the other team a chance.

    And if the league was measured on how well a team bounces back after conceding the first goal, then this season would have seen Brighton coming away with a Premier League title.

    There were 17 occasions in 2024-25 when the Seagulls conceded the first goal, but from those they came back to win five and draw five - rescuing 20 points in the process.

    It will not have made for comfortable watching for the fans, but it does show the tenacity of Fabian Hurzeler's side to turn a match around.

    The sign of champions is to win when you are not at your best and that is what Liverpool did this campaign. They may not have have conceded first as often as Brighton, but they still came back to win four times and draw seven.

    It will not have always helped the cause of those chasing European spots, but Newcastle, Fulham and Aston Villa all showed the resilience that they could go one-goal down and still get much-needed points from a game.

    At the other end of the scale, while some teams thrive in this situation, others flounder.

    Nottingham Forest surprised many onlookers going from relegation candidates to battling for a Champions League spot in less than 12 months.

    But key to that was their defence. There were not many occasions where they went 1-0 down - however, when they did, their ability to turn it around was in relegation territory.

    The silver-lining for Reds fans, though, is that they really did make it difficult for the opposition to get in front and this is a strength they will hope to build on going forwards.

    Graphic showing bottom six table when conceding first:

Pos Team                              P     GD  PTS
15	Wolves	                        23	-27	11
16	Leicester City	        30	-49	11
17	West Ham	                21	-30	6
18	Nottingham Forest	12	-17	5
19	Ipswich Town	        22	-44	3
20	Southampton	        25	-51	2
  3. Villa 'need to be much smarter with their spending' this summerpublished at 12:10 3 June

    David Michael
    Fan writer

    Aston Villa fan's voice banner
    Boubacar Kamara looks on in sunlightImage source, Getty Images

    A wind of change is about to blow through Aston Villa. With an Icarus-like attitude, they soared high in the Champions League, pushing the eventual winners close, only to now face the challenge of managing their descent.

    Boubacar Kamara has been in contract talks since well before last Christmas. The fact nothing has been signed, despite ongoing reports, strongly suggests the player was waiting to see whether Villa would still be a Champions League team by season's end.

    From the club's perspective, selling Kamara would be tempting from a PSR angle. Signed on a free transfer, any sale would as pure profit in the s - useful for balancing the books.

    While Villa's form clearly improves when Kamara is in the team, his availability has been patchy. Over three seasons, because of injuries, the midfielder has started only 54% of Villa's Premier League matches.

    Despite qualifying for Europe for a third consecutive season, Villa find themselves in trouble when it comes to Uefa's Squad Cost Rule (SCR), which limits spending on players, coaches, transfers and agent fees to 80% of total revenue for the 2024-25 campaign.

    Villa are believed to be operating at over 89%, and while a Uefa fine is expected, the limit will drop even further to 70% the following season and beyond.

    This goes some way to explaining why Kamara, along with Leon Bailey and Emi Martinez - both of whom seemed to have emotional farewells at Villa Park - may not be at the club next season.

    Villa will also be frustrated that last summer's main outlay - about £87m on Amadou Onana and Ian Maatsen - failed to secure continued Champions League football.

    Onana started just 20 league games (53%), while Maatsen started only 10 (26%). Both improved the squad, but Villa still had other starting XI positions - like right-back - that needed upgrading.

    With Uefa breathing down their necks, Villa will need to be much smarter with their spending this summer, especially after expected key player sales.

    Find more from David Michael at My Old Man Said, external

  4. Ask our pundit - send in your questionspublished at 19:51 2 June

    BBC Sport columnist Nedum Onuoha

    BBC Sport pundit Nedum Onuoha has given us his insight and opinion every fortnight on your Premier League club throughout this season.

    But this week, he's in the hotseat for your questions.

    Maybe ask him who should be on your club's radar this summer, or where a rumoured target or new g might fit into the team.

    Perhaps see what he thinks about how successful a new recruit might be, who it is vital to keep, or what is needed to make next season a success.

    Send in your questions here and we'll put a selection to him

  5. What can Aston Villa spend this summer?published at 12:41 2 June

    Steve Sutcliffe
    BBC Sport journalist

    Graphic showing Aston Villa's wages to revenue ratio increasing between 2021 and 2024

    Having failed to qualify for the Champions League things look less rosy at Aston Villa.

    The club made a loss of £206m in the two years to 30 June 2024 and, with the £100m departure of Jack Grealish in 2021 dropping away from their PSR figures, backing Unai Emery will be far from straightforward.

    Last term's run to the quarter-finals of Europe's elite club competition, along with the sales Moussa Diaby, Douglas Luiz and Jhon Duran will undoubtedly have helped.

    But the Midlands club has spent more than £900m since returning to the Premier League in 2019, exceeding Uefa's 70% revenue to wages ratio every season.

    "Without any outgoings, it appears Villa will be at the bottom end of the £50-100m spending range," said football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

    Read more about the early transfer window and what each Premier League club can spend this summer

  6. gs and sales - your transfer window prioritiespublished at 10:03 31 May

    Your views banner
    Marco Asensio and Matty CashImage source, Getty Images

    We asked for your views on what Aston Villa need to do in the transfer window.

    Here are some of your comments:

    Matt: Keeping hold of our best players is the priority. Kamara, Tielemans, Rogers, and Konsa. Hopefully Watkins and Martinez too but I'd be less concerned with those two leaving. I'd like to see Bailey, Digne, Dendoncker, Coutinho and Cash all moved on. That should help with the wages-to-turnover issue.

    Harry: We need to get some of the high earners who are not performing off the wage bill. I like Cash but I think he has now hit his ceiling so a new RB would be nice as well as a new right-sided CB and a young ST for competition up top.

    Mike: Of the expiring loan deals, I'd only look at g Asensio permanently. As good as Rashford has been since February, the sense that he's used Villa as a stepping stone on his way to Barcelona just won't go away. I don't think we've seen enough of Disasi to warrant a move.

    Prit: Villa do need another striker to give Watkins competition. Obviously need a number-two goalkeeper as Olsen has gone, and possibly a replacement for Martinez if he departs. But more crucial is what will the impact of PSR be now that we have lost the Russian Roulette of gambling all to qualify for the Champions League.

    Marc: Need a quality right-back and quality number 10. If we keep the rest of the team, we will be top six for sure.

  7. Thank you for your published at 09:14 31 May

    Premier League club graphic

    Thank you for the you submitted on the Premier League club pages.

    Our aim is to contain all of the BBC's in-depth coverage of that team in one place, so it helpful to hear from you - you are who the pages are for after all.

    We are going through all your responses and will take suggestions on board for next season.

  8. What needs to happen in the transfer window?published at 12:46 30 May

    Have your say banner
    Aston Villa promotional graphic

    The transfer window opens on Sunday - albeit for 10 days initially, mainly so sides competing in the Club World Cup can get early business done - before reopening for the rest of the summer on 16 June.

    There are a few loan deals that Aston Villa could make permanent, but are there any other players you are desperate for them to sign, or an area of the squad that needs improving? Or maybe holding on to a key player is your biggest priority.

    And what about sales - who needs to go?

    So over to you... what names need bringing in and shipping out?

    Let us know here

  9. What if... the season started in January?published at 11:32 30 May

    Nicola Pearson
    BBC Sport journalist

    Graphic showing 2025 calendar year table top six:

Pos Team              P     GD  PTS
1	Man City	19	22	40
2	Liverpool	20	17	39
3	Arsenal	        20	16	38
4	Aston Villa	19	10	37
5	Newcastle	19	10	34
6	Brighton	19	  6	34

    As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...

    A Premier League season can sometimes be a tale of two halves.

    Some come flying out of the blocks, while others are more sluggish starters.

    The busy Christmas period can be a turning point with the arrival of the January transfer window feeling like a fresh start.

    So what might have happened if the league season only start on 1 January?

    Well, Pep Guardiola's title-winning machines would have picked up their fifth Premier League trophy in a row.

    Playing one game fewer than actual champions Liverpool - who secured the title with four games remaining - they would have finished one point clear of the Reds, not withstanding Arne Slot's side slowdown in form after sealing the title.

    City always seem to come good after January, but this time it was not enough to outweigh the torrid time they had from late autumn.

    The rest of the top six is not too dissimilar to the final placings, although in this case, Aston Villa would have secured Champions League football and Brighton a Europa League spot in the absence of Chelsea - whose form nose-dived at the very beginning of the year.

    And while the new year is a new start for some, it is less so for others.

    That was the case for many of those down the bottom of the league.

    The relegated trio would still have been relegated and Manchester United and Tottenham would still have ended up in the bottom six. West Ham find themselves one place lower after Wolves picked up form under Vitor Pereira.

    So what does this tell us? If you wan to achieve your Premier League ambitions, it is about making sure you are there for nine months and not just from January.

    *Table data from Football365

    2025 calendar year table bottom six graphic showing:

Pos Team             P     GD  PTS
15	West Ham	19	-4	20
16	Man Utd	19	-5	20
17	Tottenham	19	-14	14
18	Leicester 	19	-27	11
19	Ipswich   	19	-31	7
20   S'oton            19	-33	6
  10. 'A season of missed opportunities' published at 12:31 29 May

    Your views banner
    Unai EmeryImage source, Getty Images

    We asked for your views on our fan contributor David Michael's end of season scorecard (27 May, 15:58 BST).

    Here are some of your comments:

    Tony: Absolutely agree with this assessment. We've played some brilliant football - home to Newcastle, for example - some of the best play I've seen in over 57 years at Villa Park. Yet we then don't turn up in crunch games, and I don't get it. Next season will be trepidation about possibly falling back from what we achieved over the past three seasons. Nervous!

    Robert: I give this season a 7/10. While we can take Villa seriously as regular European contenders now, there's more work to do before we're regulars in the Champions League. Our season will be defined by the number of times we've had to get a result from a losing position, but it could've been different if we'd avoided individual defensive mistakes that led to goals conceded or, in the case of the last day, getting our goalkeeper sent off. Champions League regulars are strict on players who make mistakes at that level, and if Villa aspire to become one of them in years to come, that's the mentality we need to adopt.

    Tim: My old chap watched Villa with my grandad through the 50s and 60s. He always said, even then, that Villa didn't score enough goals. It's the same this season, our goals-for column is too low. That said, we shipped a lot too. Liam Delap would be a good start at correcting that imbalance.

    Prit: Season rating - 7/10. Could have easily been 9/10 but two pivotal games, against Crystal Palace and Manchester United, when the team froze and cost us dearly has lost a lot of goodwill. Our unsung hero has to be Boubacar Kamara. Midfield dynamo who can play across midfield, got us out of a lot of trouble by playing in the back four when we were desperate and is now scoring goals. Kamara is very much the glue that has held Villa together this season.

    Russell: The season has been one of missed opportunities. Seeing Newcastle and Palace win trophies, something we haven't managed since 1996, makes me very envious. Missing out on the Champions League in the way we did also sticks in the craw. Overall 7/10.

  11. When will the 2025-26 Premier League fixtures be released? published at 08:21 29 May

    The Premier League trophy with BBC's Ask Me Anything brandingImage source, Getty Images

    The BBC's Ask Me Anything team have done all of the research ahead of the announcement detailing next season's Premier League matches.

    The fixtures for the 2025-26 season will be released at 09:00 BST on Wednesday, 18 June 2025 and the release will include the weekly schedule of all 380 matches.

    The season will begin with a single fixture played on Friday, 15 August 2025 and conclude on Sunday, 24 May 2026, when all matches will be played at 16:00 BST. There will be 33 weekend rounds of fixtures, plus five midweek rounds.

    The exact date and time at which individual matches are played during each weekend will be determined at regular intervals throughout the season, based on TV selections made by broadcasters.

    Read the full article here

  12. What is your Villa moment of the season?published at 15:51 28 May

    Mike Taylor
    BBC Radio WM reporter

    Aston Villa expert view banner
    Jhon Duran celebrates scoring against Bayern MunichImage source, Getty Images

    When do you know you belong somewhere?

    The Champions League fixture list confirmed Villa were not imagining it - the first win, in the chocolate-box scenery of Bern, seemed almost too easy. Was this all for real? Villa had made it to this level all right, but now they needed to really arrive.

    With a little over 10 minutes to go in their second game, against Bayern Munich, it happened. It was all the more sensational because only one man, Jhon Duran himself, could possibly have known what was going to happen.

    And yet, even he could not have realised as he ran on to Pau Torres' , how his life was about to change. With Manuel Neuer – Manuel Neuer! – advancing towards him, barely taking a glance at the target, Duran hooked the ball around a defender, over Neuer, into the North Stand goal.

    Villa Park exploded. Duran, now instantly famous all over Europe, stood as if modelling for his own statue while his team fell around him. As it happened, it took a moment of utter football fantasy to make Aston Villa's Champions League status feel like reality.

    At Villa's end-of-season awards, John McGinn won the prize for goal of the season.

    "I feel a bit of a fraud to be honest, because that's not the best goal of the season," he said when handed the award.

    "I just want to thank Jhon Duran for going..."

    Tune into The West Midlands Football Phone-In from 18:00 on weeknights

    An image detailing how to follow your Premier League team on BBC Sport: "On the app? Tap the bell icon to get news about your club sent to you. Signed in on a browser? Hit 'Follow' to stay up to date.
  13. Your Aston Villa player of the seasonpublished at 13:09 28 May

    We asked you to select your Aston Villa player of the season from the four candidates chosen by our fan contributor.

    And with the poll now closed, we can reveal the winner is... Youri Tielemans!

    Here's what David Michael from My Old Man Said, external said about him:

    After taking almost half a season to start a league game last season, the Belgium midfielder has been Villa's only ever-present starter this time around.

    A revelation under Unai Emery, he is now very much the heartbeat of the team. His deeper role limits headline stats, but his influence has been essential for Villa.

    See the final poll breakdown

    Youri TielemansImage source, Getty Images
  14. Emery shows 'dignity' despite 'sour taste' - Nevinpublished at 09:52 28 May

    Pat Nevin
    Former footballer and presenter

    Unai EmeryImage source, Getty Images

    Newcastle stumbled over the line to qualify for the Champions League after a poor display at home, in the end having to depend on Aston Villa slipping up against Manchester United. A stupid back left Villa with 10 men and a mountain to climb at Old Trafford but then came the moment of the weekend.

    The goal Villa had disallowed could have put them in the lead. It could have delivered three points and their own place in the Champions League but it was incorrectly ruled out.

    Most football lovers will know that when the referee blows his whistle, the game has officially stopped. There are no exceptions, even if seconds later the ball is in the net and the referee has erred badly. VAR is not allowed to interfere.

    It's not the first time this has happened to grotesquely effect the outcome of a game but to turn an exciting season on its head and spoil an entire campaign for one side and all its fans, this must be close to unique blunder.

    Maybe the rule has to be tweaked, maybe young referees need more training to learn how to deal with these rare situations. Maybe VAR should be allowed some discretion to get involved, but VAR was brought into clarify rules and the rules were adhered too.

    This unfortunate situation left a sour taste and then some, but praise at least to Unai Emery once again. In his first interviews post match he dealt with it all with dignity. If only everyone else could take a leaf from his book.

    To lose out unfairly and by nothing more than goal difference, not even a single point, at the end of a season must be incredibly hard to bear, but he did.

    Sign up to read more from Pat Nevin in his Football Extra newsletter

  15. Which teams put a shift in this season?published at 08:03 28 May

    Chris Collinson
    BBC Sport statistician

    A graph plots distance covered on x axis and sprints on y axis. Brighton covered most distance. Most sprints is Bournemouth followed by Tottenham. Nottingham Forest are low for both metrics.

    Bournemouth and Tottenham were the most physical teams in the Premier League this season when considering the distance they covered and the number of sprints performed.

    The results might explain why they had a lot of injuries.

    Newcastle and Brighton were not too far behind though, with Brighton actually covering the most ground in the league, with fewer sprints.

    Chelsea and Liverpool's style of play saw them sprint a lot but not cover a lot of ground, while Manchester City and Arsenal were the opposite (ran a lot but didn't sprint a lot).

    Nottingham Forest very much had their own style of play this season as they both ran and sprinted the least.

  16. Fan scorecard: Unsung hero? Happy with Emery?published at 15:58 27 May

    David Michael
    Fan writer

    Aston Villa fan's voice banner
    John McGinn Aston VillaImage source, Getty Images

    Season Rating: 8/10 - mainly for the season being full of possibility right until the final few weeks. For the owners and Unai Emery, it will potentially be seen as a step back though.

    Happy with your manager? Emery is clearly Villa's best chance of achieving top-level success. However, a developing pattern has emerged of the team choking in high-stakes games where they were favourites, producing poor and hesitant performances - Olympiakos, Monaco (when a result was needed to secure a top-eight finish), the FA Cup semi-final, and now Manchester United.

    Is this the manager's fault, or have his players let him down?

    Unsung hero: John McGinn - he has been in the odd position where despite being the captain, in a fully fit squad, he doesn't necessarily have an automatic starting position. This season could have been one of transition for him, with the midfielder being phased out, but McGinn has been vital to keep Villa going through a tough season.

    Player you would most like to sign: Villa have the team to help Liam Delap kick on, considering he scored 12 goals for a relegated Premier League team at the age of just 22. He has the game and predatory spirit that would suit Villa. But there is a queue forming for his services, which will push his price beyond being decent value.

    Right now, my overriding emotion from the season is: In isolation, it has been an enjoyable season, mainly for the Champions League adventure. Looking ahead, because of how the season ended, the main feeling for the bigger picture is one of trepidation and it being a potential sliding doors moment.

    Next season features a Champions League now with 30% of the Premier League in it. That is six teams with a chance of better revenue than Villa and the ability to offer players top-tier European football in the summer transfer window. Not ideal.

    Do you agree with David's answers? Pick one or two categories and send your views

    Have your say banner

    Find more from David Michael at My Old Man Said, external

  17. 'Controversy and acrimony of defeat'published at 15:57 27 May

    Aston Villa's Pau Torres, Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins protesting to referee Thomas BramallImage source, Getty Images
    Chief football writer Phil McNulty byline banner

    Here's my quick assessment of Aston Villa's Premier League season - and a return to my August predictions.

    Pre-season prediction: 9th

    Ended the season: 6th

    Aston Villa's fine season ended in the controversy and acrimony of defeat at Manchester United and that disallowed effort from Morgan Rogers, ending their hopes of a second successive season in the Champions League, where they reached the quarter-finals this term.

    Unai Emery still produces work that should be the envy of clubs such as Manchester United and Tottenham. He will continue to demand progress under Villa's ambitious owners.

    There was certainly a tinge of disappointment in Villa's conclusion, with the mystifying 'no-show' in the FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace at Wembley a big blot - then that final day defeat - but Emery has transformed Villa and, with outstanding youngsters such as Rogers, there is still much to be satisfied about.

    What I said in August: "Champions League football will put an additional strain on Emery's squad but I fancy top four again."

    Read my assessments of the other 19 teams here

  18. Bramall appointed 'on merit' - Foypublished at 14:09 27 May

    Media caption,

    Former Premier League referee Chris Foy said Thomas Bramall's decision on Sunday was an "unfortunate incident" but that many referees "would have given a foul in that situation".

    Bramall blew for a foul when Morgan Rogers nudged the ball away from Manchester United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir before the Villa midfielder put the ball in the net.

    Bramall thought Bayindir had two hands on the ball, though television footage suggested otherwise, and because he stopped play before the ball crossed the line, the video assistant referee (VAR) could not intervene.

    Foy told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club he was "impressed" by Bramall's showing in Manchester City's 3-1 win over Bournemouth on 20 May - a match that featured a straight red card for each side.

    Foy added: "He's been given the [Villa] game on merit, he was worthy of his appointment.

    "Unfortunately we're talking about one decision because he made a really good decision to send the goalkeeper off and took his time to give the penalty.

    "He was going really well but unfortunately we're talking about this one decision."

    Former Villa goalkeeper Shay Given said Bramall will "learn" and "grow" from this situation.

    "Let's not forget Thomas Bramall is a human being," he added.

    "I find it more difficult when VAR with all different angles make wrong decisions. This guy has just made a human error, it's more forgivable."

    Listen to the Monday Night Club's discussion on the incident on BBC Sounds