Nobody at Villa Park will pretend this rebuild was the plan back in May. But in football you cannot always decide what happens and a rebuild, at a pace that was not expected, eventually became the plan. Everyone knows of the financial pressure, with UEFA’s oversight hanging over every decision the club made this summer. Morgan Rogers’ departure helped balance the books and freed room to address squad needs. Then two release clauses landed that nobody had budgeted for, Digne and Tielemans’, forcing the plan to change again. Onana got injured long term, so he would miss most of the season where, by all accounts, he was going to fly and govern the midfield. Then Emi Martinez wanted out, like in previous summers, and tried it every way he could. Add a squad whose average age was pushing 29, and the club faced a choice: patch the cracks or start a real generational turnover. Imagine the long meetings, the long discussions, all the possibilities on the table. But clearly a new path had to be taken, one that accelerated out of anyone’s control. It happens. Almost a dozen new faces later, and let’s see what happens today, this is a different Villa. Younger, leaner on the balance sheet, built in a shape and with names and positions chosen with Emery’s blessing, now everyone is determined to start a new cycle rather than defend the old one. The financial side of this rebuild has gone about as well as it could, with sales of players in their thirties fetching prices well above expectation. The football side has to be more honest: losing that experience for extraordinary fees is good business, but it leaves gaps a young squad can’t fill by talent alone. Players are not yet a team, and there’s an acknowledgment inside the club that another experienced body or two would have helped soften the transition. But once a player has decided he’s done what he came to do, there’s little a club can do beyond protecting the valuation. That’s the job now, and it will take patience, both from the coaching staff working with young talent and from the club itself. From the fans. That is what it is being asked of you. Do you want new memories, a new trip around the demands of the Premier League while players develop their football and personalties? Emery has rebuilt cycles before, at Valencia, at Sevilla. He knows what this looks like in year one. The timing is brutal, a new-look squad thrown straight into the Premier League with barely a pre-season together, but the people building this are the same people who got Villa to a Europa League final. Who knows what will happen. But don’t you want to be part of what happens next? Then, I would say, help this team reach the best they can give.

10 years ago, we managed three wins in an entire season before dropping to play the likes of Rotherham in the Championship. Today we signed Leon Goretzka, Nico Jackson and found out we're going to play Barcelona in the Champions League. Perspective. #avfc

Amy Hunt’s agent and Steve Cram have lamented the lack of fans at the European Athletics Championships where... 🚗 No cars at the stadium 🚌 The park and ride costs £22.50 🍔 A pork roll for £18.50 @JWTelegraph has the full details 👇 telegraph.co.uk/athletics/20…

In the 21st century, only twice has the team who scored the opener in a World Cup semi-final gone on to lose the match. Those teams were England in 2018, and England in 2026 ❌ 📊 via OptaJoe

One home kit. Two seasons. ❤️🤍 Continuing our commitment to affordability and sustainability, our new home shirt will be worn through to the end of 2027-28. Prices remain frozen across replica and authentic shirts.

🚨 NEW: Keir Starmer will attend the World Cup final in New York if England beat Argentina on Wednesday He will then fly back to London to officially resign as Prime Minister on Monday morning

I can neither confirm nor deny that Robert Jenrick has asked to defect to the Count Binface Party. I can confirm that the answer's no.

Labour, Tories, Lib Dems and Greens: I demand you stand down in Clacton. I will be a unity candidate and pledge to build at least one affordable house. Nigel Farage says he wants The People versus the Establishment. So be it. Leave him to me.