This season will see a new version of Aston Villa under Unai Emery.
A 4-2 defeat to Real Sociedad on Tuesday will irritate their perfectionist head coach, but there is plenty of time for him to fine-tune the Europa League holders before the start of the new campaign.
With Brian Madjo, George Hemmings, Modou Cisse all likely to feature in the squad going forward there was still plenty to build on from the encounter against the La Liga side.
The display of teenage striker Madjo was one.
Villa are still awaiting the outcome of their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) as they try to register the England Under-17 international, who joined from Metz for £10m in January and does not turn 18 until January next year.
Under-18s cannot complete international transfers, but Villa have argued Madjo was born in London and should be exempt, despite having three caps for Luxembourg.
Fifa does allow some exemptions for minor players to make moves, including if a 16 or 17-year-old transfers within the European Union – something the UK is no longer part of.
At 6ft 4in, Madjo has already been compared to Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku and his leveller to make it 2-2 after 56 minutes was simple enough but showed a predatory instinct.
He was a handful for Sociedad, with strength and power unsettling the visiting defenders and, with Ollie Watkins still on a break following England’s World Cup campaign and Tammy Abraham returning from a shoulder issue, Madjo has the chance to impress.
While he cannot play in competitive games for Villa, it leaves the tantalising prospect of the hulking youngster being unleashed in the Premier League in the new year, or earlier if the club get their way.
They are still in the market for a striker – Chelsea‘s Nicolas Jackson remains a top target – but in Madjo they have someone Emery can refine quietly before his entrance into the spotlight.
There is still work to be done, though, and the Villa boss spent a large part of the first half talking to himself and then the bench, with hands on his hips or arms flailing.
Trying to get Madjo and 19-year-old midfielder Hemmings to listen to instructions appeared difficult with neither player following through on Emery’s desire for them to pull wider.
‘Don’t move’ was the second-half instruction to Luka Lynch, which needed repeating several times before the 19-year-old winger stopped and then immediately collected the ball.
While Matty Cash, Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia started against Sociedad, many of Emery’s trusted lieutenants were missing.
Villa’s World Cup cohort of Watkins, Ezri Konsa, John McGinn, Victor Lindelof, Emi Martinez and record buy Johan Manzambi did not feature, while France left-back Lucas Digne’s move to Paris St-Germain has still to be rubber-stamped.
Only Cisse and Joao Gomes were the new arrivals in action and, even then, centre-back Cisse was signed from LASK last summer before spending the season with the Austrian side.
The departure of Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers, coupled with Amadou Onana’s serious knee injury which rules him out until next year, has led to a hectic summer.
It was, at times, a hectic game too on Tuesday with Carlos Soler cancelling out Hemmings’ opener, before Orri Oskarsson, Gorka Carrera and Inaki Ruperez netted for the La Liga side.
Winger Alejandro Garnacho was absent at Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium after his loan move from Chelsea last week, but the Argentine winger is expected to travel to Indonesia this week for Villa’s tour.
The fact there are players still away – or returning from injury in Boubacar Kamara’s case – means bodies are needed.
That also means major outgoings for fringe players like Leon Bailey or Evann Guessand – back in training after the World Cup with the Ivory Cost – are not necessarily expected while Villa are away.
Emery’s side play Indonesia All-Stars on Saturday, BG Pathum United next Tuesday, before facing Bayern Munich in Hong Kong on 7 August.
Once Villa return, for the Super Cup against Paris St-Germain in Salzburg on 12 August, then the gears will turn faster.
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