Aston Villa notebook: McGinn warning, Europa Conference League seeding, Villa Park transformation

Aston Villa have five weeks left until they open their pre-season schedule at the Bescot Stadium, and there’s plenty going on behind the scenes in anticipation for a busy 2023/24 campaign.

Unai Emery is working closely with the club’s recruitment staff to finalise plans for the summer transfer window, which opens for Premier League clubs on Wednesday. Most European leagues open their market at the beginning of July, and Villa have wasted no time moving for some of their targets.

Marco Asensio was one of the first targets who Villa moved for, but the playmaker is heading to PSG on a free transfer instead. Meanwhile, Villa are waiting to hear from Youri Tielemans, who is also set to become a free agent this summer following Leicester City’s relegation from the Premier League.

Emery wants to build a squad capable of challenging across all fronts next term, and his captain John McGinn has warned his teammates that they must continue to strive for improvements despite how far they’ve come in such a short space of time.

READ | ‘Embarrassing’ – John McGinn reveals Steven Gerrard feelings after Aston Villa struggles

READ | Aston Villa must answer huge transfer question to realise Unai Emery’s Champions League dream

JOHN McGINN FIRES VILLA WARNING

In a brilliant in-depth interview with The Telegraph, McGinn outlined Emery’s ambitions at Villa after performing a remarkable job last season.

“We had staged ambition: keep the club in the league, then let’s try to get in the top 10 and then let’s see who we can catch,” McGinn says.

“But he also said, ‘I’ve managed in Europe for the last 14 years and this is the first season I have missed out on it and I don’t want to miss out’, so his personality is so driven to succeed that it has certainly rubbed off on the players. Now watching West Ham [in the Europa Conference League final] there is definitely a tinge of jealousy. Hopefully it can be us next season.”

He added: “The resilience I have shown this season is something I am quite proud of and thinking I am now through that means there is more to come. I have certainly enjoyed the last three-quarters of this season and have probably played the best football of my career.

“It’s a club on the up but it means absolutely nothing if we don’t deliver on the pitch. The fans are demanding but they crave success, they crave European football. The manager is the same and he has been clear about it: compete in Europe, compete for trophies.”

VILLA PARK PITCH RELAYED

The Villa Park pitch will be relayed this summer and work has already begun on the process. The stadium will host a number of events in the off-season, including concerts from Pink and Bruce Springsteen. The WSX British Grand Prix is also coming to Villa Park on July 1.

Villa Park groundsman Nathan Page uploaded some videos and pictures to social media of the work his team have done on the pitch so far.

EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE UPDATE

Villa must qualify for the Europa Conference League group stage by overcoming a two-legged play-off game in August. Villa are currently an unseeded team for the play-off draw, which means they could face a tougher opponent than what they might have if they were a seeded team.

They can become a seeded team if two things happen. Tonight, they need Viborg to beat Midtjylland in the Superligaen Europa Conference League Final. Then, Villa would require Fenerbahce to beat Istanbul Basaksehir in the Turkish Cup on Sunday night.

CLARET & BLUE PODCAST CATCH-UP

The Claret & Blue podcast returned to the Hockley Social Club to talk about the latest transfer news and Emery’s squad depth ahead of the summer window opening next week.

How many players do Villa need to sign this summer? Tell us in the comments section…

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