Aston Villa began the season at Brighton without a recognised striker in the squad, went four goals down inside 31 minutes and had their new midfielder sent off before half-time. They lost 4-0. On Monday they host the champions, and the transfer window closes the following night.
The team that won in Istanbul
Four of the side that started May's Europa League final have gone: Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne, Morgan Rogers and Ezri Konsa. Konsa's was the most recent, a £55m move to Arsenal that ended 286 appearances since joining from Brentford in July 2019. Villa are still looking for his replacement. A bid for Taylor Harwood-Bellis has been rejected by Southampton and contact has been made with Club Brugge over a centre-back. Their squad retention is the lowest in the Premier League at 65.6 per cent, and they have spent less than any side in the division on replacing what left.
The striker who did not travel