Aston Villa are on Australia's Gold Coast for pre-season with the first game of the tour against Leeds on Sunday. The countdown is also on for Saturday August 6 when Aston Villa visit Bournemouth in their new Premier League campaign.
Boss Steven Gerrard looks set to have a new-look side ready for the curtain raiser after being very active early on in the transfer window. Boubacar Kamara signed as a free transfer from Marseille just after the end of last season and has since been joined by Sevilla centre-back Diego Carlos, while Philippe Coutinho and Robin Olsen have made their loan moves permanent.
The club have also confirmed they have reached an agreement with Sevilla FC for the season-long loan of Ludwig Augustinsson, who has begun the process of obtaining a work permit.
Augustinsson has been capped 46 times by Sweden and played both Champions League and Europa League football for Sevilla last term and is on his way with an option to buy after Villa sold Matt Targett to Newcastle for £15million after his successful loan. Mirror Sport takes a look at the latest Villa transfer news and rumours.
Villa step up striker search
Villa manager Gerrard is “scouring the market” for a new striker which could impact the future of Danny Ings, according to talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook.
The Villa boss has enjoyed a busy transfer window by adding five new faces to his squad but he’s yet to bolster his forward ranks. But reports now suggest Gerrard could look to bring in another body, which in turn would put sharp focus on Ings' standing in the Villa squad, despite only arriving last summer in a deal worth £25million.
Crook said: “ They got a lot of business done early and then it’s gone a bit quiet. They were obviously linked with Luis Suarez. So, I think Gerrard is scouring the market and that would probably have a knock on effect with Danny Ings.”
Rookie striker agrees loan exit
Villa have confirmed Louie Barry has signed a season-long loan deal at MK Dons. The 19-year-old had several loan offers from League One clubs - including Charlton - but has opted to link up with manager Liam Manning as the Dons target promotion to the Championship next season.
Barry spent the first part of last season at Ipswich before cutting that season-long agreement short to join Swindon Town. The former Barcelona youngster really kicked on at the County Ground, scoring six in his 14 appearances before the Robins narrowly missed out on promotion in the play-offs.
Star set for exit after missing tour
Anwar El Ghazi featured for a youthful Aston Villa XI against Hednesford Town on Tuesday after not travelling with the first team squad to Australia.
The Netherlands international is a cult figure at Villa Park , having scored against Derby at Wembley to help send the club back to the Premier League in 2019. He scored an impressive 10 league goals in the 2020/21 campaign but found his opportunities limited last term due to the summer arrivals of Emiliano Buendia and Leon Bailey.
The 27-year-old was sent on loan to Everton in January but made only two cameo appearances, totalling 11 minutes before returning to Bodymoor Heath. Now El Ghazi has been left out of the club’s training camp in Australia - lining up against Hednesford at Keys Park instead - hinting that he could be set for another move away from B6 according to the Birmingham Mail.
