Dean Smith talks transfers as Aston Villa duo make admission ahead of Premier League return date
Aston Villa news | Your latest AVFC round-up
by James Rushton, https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/authors/james-rushton/Dean Smith names most-important signing
Dean Smith has named former Manchester United trainee Tom Heaton as the summer signing who has impressed him most since joining Aston Villa.
The experienced goalkeeper arrived from Burnley in a £10million deal shortly before the season started and was a firm fixture between the sticks during the first half of the campaign.
Heaton suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury against his former club on New Year’s Day in what was a huge blow to Villa and Smith.
The England international was one of 12 summer arrivals and Smith didn’t hesitate when quizzed about which one of them has caught his eye.
“It’s a tough one, I suppose Tom Heaton because he understands the league,” Smith told Beyond The Ball. “I just felt it would strengthen us by bringing in an experienced goalkeeper.
“He’s been there, seen it and done it. Unfortunately he got injured on New Year’s Day and it put him out for the season. He’s one who adapted straight away but there’s others.
“Douglas Luiz is playing an awful lot of games. He was playing La Liga last year so he’s found it a little bit different.”
Tyrone Mings speaks out
Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings has opened up on his own care routine, admitting that seeing a psychologist is just as important to his week as gym work.
The defender spoke out on Prince William's BBC One broadcast yesterday night regarding mental health in football
"No amount of talking, counseling, explaining that can get a whole generation past the grief felt by two World Wars, a generation that internalised a lot, and just wants to move on," said the Duke of Cambridge - a Villa fan - regarding the belief that 'manning up' is the way forward.
"Is that relevant in today's world? It's not. We need to be able to speak out before we damage everything around us."
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Mings himself admitted that the industry takes a hard stance on mental health worries due to it's very nature as a competitive spectator sport.
"It's a difficult one, because nobody cares if you might be having a problem mentally, or a problem physically or if you've got problems at home," said Mings during a lunch hosted by England stars to support Sands United - a team founded to assist fathers who have lost children.
"You can't carry that into a game because you only get judged, really, on your performance.
"I pay a psychologist to help me throughout the week because I found throughout my injury and stuff, that was the thing that helped me."
Back on TV
Thursday has been a significant day in piecing together how the returning Premier League will look.
Aston Villa and their 19 top flight rivals, who are back in group training and who have given the green light to conduct in full contact training, will return to the field of play next month, with Villa themselves being the first up when they host Sheffield United in their game in hand.
With matches inevitably behind closed doors, deciding on how the games will be carved up among the broadcasting companies has been high up on the list of topics that have been discussed.
Now the picture is a little clearer - here is what we know so far.
The glut of matches - all 92 of them to be precise - were always going to be dictated by the TV companies, who will want peak kick off times.
Eventually they arrived at the following arrangement.
A new look broadcast schedule has been devised, due to the circumstances, with matches kicking off at 20:00 on Mondays & Fridays, 12:30, 15:00, 17:30 and 20:00 on Saturdays, 12:00, 14:00, 16:30 and 19:00 on Sundays, with midweek fixtures being held at 18:00 and 20:00 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
It means it’ll be something of a football feast for supporters who will be forced to watch from their living rooms.
Aston Villa latest
McGinn on squad-building
John McGinn has admitted that the Aston Villa players have taken longer to gel than anyone expected.
After winning promotion last May, Dean Smith, backed by owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawris, embarked on a summer spending spree that saw 12 players arrive at a cost of almost £150m.
The likes of Wesley, Douglas Luiz and Matt Targett all arrived for big-money fees, with Villa keen to build a side capable of being competitive in their first season back in the top-flight.
Unfortunately, it hasn't all gone to plan, with Villa finding themselves in the relegation zone prior to the season being suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
McGinn suffered a serious injury at the back end of December and hasn't played now for six months, with the enforced break giving him time to recover from his ankle fracture.
But he has admitted that along with a number of key injuries, the raft of new players did have an impact on the stability of the side that won promotion from the Championship.
“Over the year, I think there’s been ups and downs, personally and as a team," he told VillaTV. "It’s been very difficult to try and gel, a lot of new signings and some players took longer than others to settle and get used to the culture. The accents, the Brummie accent and the Glaswegian accent, the Southern accent – there’s different ones flying about. So, it’s maybe taken us longer than we expected to get used to each other and the way we played."