View: What Aston Villa fans can learn from day one of preseason training
Aston Villa are finally back in for preseason training and fans are already analysing the training footage released by the club.
Day one of preseason was a busy one for Villa, announcing the signing of Rory Wilson and the departure of Trezeguet alongside a new contract for Ashley Young.
However, there are a few things released by both players and the club that some fans might have missed or are suggestive of Villa’s plans for the coming season.
What we picked up
Much of Aston Villa’s coverage of the day was surrounding Diego Carlos, who arrived for his first day at Bodymoor Heath since signing from Sevilla.
However, one of the earlier posts showing Carlos was a video of him meeting fellow Brazilian Douglas Luiz.
The midfielder has been linked with a move away for some time, so it is interesting that Villa would be so keen to show Luiz.
Another interesting post was a picture of Cameron Archer, Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins all training on exercise bikes together.
Archer is currently being heavily linked with a move away from Villa, but it was reported by The Athletic that Villa want to keep him, so this picture could end up being Villa’s striking options for the new season.
However, the most interesting posts did not come from the club at all, but instead from two outcasts in the squad.
French duo Frederic Guilbert and Morgan Sanson both took to Twitter on Monday to post pictures from training, with the former putting a particularly interesting message out.
Guilbert posted a picture of himself in the gym with the caption “the past is in the past, let’s look to the future” in French.
The right-back has been frozen out of the Villa squad for some time and spent last season on loan at Ligue 1 side Strasbourg.
His message could be indicative of a return to the Villa squad after Strasbourg’s strong season, especially with Villa’s lack of depth at right-back.
However, Guilbert is renowned for his professionalism so he could simply be showing his desire to work.
Regardless, Villa fans will be looking for more hints from the club in the days to come.
In other Aston Villa news, the club have not made an approach for Joe Gomez.