Aston Villa in July: Four pre-season fixtures as Emery plans for the new campaign | OneFootball

Unai Emery’s appointment was the biggest turning point for Aston Villa last season, with the Spaniard inspiring a massive upturn in fortunes to lead them to a seventh-placed finish.

Steven Gerrard was in the dugout when the season started, but a series of dismal results prompted the club to replace him with Emery.

The decision proved to be a masterstroke as Villa became a completely different team under the 51-year-old.

Emery made some bold decisions and they all worked brilliantly.

A stunning run of form completely banished relegation fears as they steadily began climbing up the standings.

The Midlands outfit claimed big victories over Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United.

They ultimately finished ahead of Tottenham to qualify for the Europa Conference League.

With the Villans engaged in Europe and the domestic cup competitions, they could play more than 50 matches next season.

Emery will look to bring in some quality players in the ongoing summer transfer window ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.

Villa have already confirmed the signing of Youri Tielemans on a free transfer while they are also close to wrapping up a deal for Spain star Pau Torres.

The Midlands club have also been linked with several other players, including Giovani Lo Celso, Tyler Adams and Pedro Goncalves.

Aston Villa pre-season

Villa will begin their preparations for the new season by taking a trip to the Bescot Stadium to play with Walsall on July 15.

They then fly to the United States for their summer pre-season fixtures against Newcastle United, Fulham and Brentford.

Villa will meet Lazio at the Bescot Stadium on August 3 before their final friendly with Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium.