Aston Villa’s pre-season preparations continue this week, and on the second day back for the squad, a number of players reported back for the first time.
As shown in Villa’s social media activity on Monday, it was shown that Tyrone Mings, Jacob Ramsey, Ross Barkley, Boubacar Kamara, Andres Garcia, Lamare Bogarde, Joe Gauci and Alex Moreno were among those to arrive at Bodymoor Heath on the first day of training.
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Naturally, at this stage of the summer, it’s merely a case of putting the players through their paces to start the process of rebuilding their fitness back up to optimal level, while those who were on international duty earlier in the summer or perhaps needed additional time off for other reasons, are expected back gradually over the coming days and week.
As per the club’s latest video post on the second training session of the week, not only were Unai Emery and his coaching staff back at the training ground to oversee matters, but Pau Torres, Yasin Ozcan, Zepiqueno Redmond and Kosta Nedeljkovic were seen taking part along with their teammates in the gym and out on the grass.
Some of the Villa youngsters were also included in the session including Yeimar Mosquera and Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba, and so there was a sizeable group at work, but we’ll likely see some more of the senior players in the next few days.
It’s a fascinating time for some of the individuals named above though, as they may well be looking at an exit this summer and so this is merely a case of keeping themselves fit and ticking over until a deal is completed.
Moreno and Nedeljkovic were shipped out on loan last season and it’s unclear at this stage if they will get another opportunity to impress Emery or not, while speculation has linked others with a departure over the course of the summer thus far.
It’s good to see Ozcan and Redmond integrate and settle into their new surroundings early on though, as although it remains to be seen if they’ll be part of Emery’s first-team squad in the upcoming campaign, the more time that they get with the Villa boss and their teammates, the better prepared they will be for what the next step is as part of their adaptation process.
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