Meanwhile, Villa have offered Bayern Munich a loan with an option to buy their Portugal midfielder Joao Palhinha, 31, but a permanent transfer is the preferred option for the German club. (Florian Plettenberg), external
PSG 2-1 Aston Villa - send us your thoughts on Super Cup defeatpublished at 23:07 BST 12 August
23:07 BST 12 August
Aston Villa missed out on their first piece of silverware of the season after losing to Champions League winners Paris St-Germain in the Super Cup in Salzburg.
Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know how you are feeling.
Aston Villa's Konsa back on Arsenal radarpublished at 17:01 BST 12 August
17:01 BST 12 August
Sami Mokbel Senior football correspondent
Image source, Getty Images
Arsenal are reigniting their interest in Aston Villa central defender Ezri Konsa.
Konsa, 28, is still on holiday after the World Cup and is not with the Villa squad for Wednesday's Super Cup game against Paris St-Germain.
The Gunners' initial summer move for Konsa did not materialise, with the London club only willing to pay in the region of £30m for the England international who is valued at £60m by Villa.
Konsa played 48 games in all competitions last season for Aston Villa, winning the Europa League.
Arsenal accept they will need to significantly improve their original offer if they are to be successful in their efforts to land Konsa but whether Villa are willing to let the defender leave for a fee under their valuation remains to be seen.
Multiple sources have told BBC Sport the Gunners have also held exploratory talks with Tottenham over a potential move for their club captain Cristian Romero.
Spurs are thought to have no intention of selling the 28-year-old to Arsenal given the intense rivalry between the two north London clubs.
But that has not prevented Arsenal from making enquiries into what would be one of the most surprising transfers of the summer window.
Aston Villa identify Ruggeri as Digne replacementpublished at 16:24 BST 12 August
16:24 BST 12 August
Nick Mashiter Football reporter in Salzburg
Image source, Getty Images
Aston Villa are closing in on signing Atletico Madrid defender Matteo Ruggeri.
A deal for the 24-year-old left-back is progressing and he is expected to move to Villa Park after just a season at the Metropolitano.
He will replace Lucas Digne, who completed an £8.5m return to Paris St-Germain on Sunday and could face Villa in the Super Cup on Wednesday night (20:00 BST).
Villa had been looking to revamp their left-back options this summer and were looking for more physicality in the position, having also been interested in AC Milan's Pervis Estupinan, who played for Unai Emery at Villarreal.
Ruggeri made 47 appearances for Atletico last season, after joining from Atalanta last summer and signing a five-year deal, as they finished fourth in La Liga and lost the Copa del Rey final on penalties to Real Sociedad.
He won the Europa League with Atalanta in 2024, while also being named in the competition's Team of the Season.
Villa's unwavering belief in Emerypublished at 15:26 BST 12 August
15:26 BST 12 August
Nick Mashiter Football reporter
Image source, Getty Images
Villa supporters were queuing for a boat trip on the Salzach river this morning while many gathered around Makartsteg Bridge in the middle of Salzbug.
The club had a ticket allocation of just under 7,000 for Wednesday's Super Cup against PSG.
The belief behind Unai Emery is unwavering, despite a summer of change which has seen Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne depart.
Add to that a shift in Emery's backroom team, with assistant Paco Ayestaran and key set-piece coach Austin McPhee, who has joined Chelsea, among those to have left.
But Emery remains, vital to Villa's hopes having dragged them from a relegation battle to Europa League winners in three-and-a-half years.
It is because of Emery that expectation levels remain and captain John McGinn says they should not wane.
"Similar to where it's been in the past few seasons," he said, when asked what fans should expect.
"I think we've consistently competed with the best in England. I think we've consistently competed with the best in Europe no matter what the competition is.
"We'll have our challenges, there's a lot of change, but when you look at other clubs around England, there's a lot of change there as well – a lot of coaches changing, a lot of players changing.
"We've still got the same hunger and desire to go and achieve more and as long as we've got the hunger and desire to do that, Aston Villa fans can expect as much as possible."
Aston Villa are playing in their first Super Cup since beating Barcelona in 1982 and you will get reaction aplenty on this, your Aston Villa page.
Does Super Cup really matter?published at 08:55 BST 12 August
08:55 BST 12 August
Unai Emery is the king of the Europa League.
He won a fifth title with Aston Villa in May - their win over Freiburg in Istanbul ending a 30-year trophy drought - but the Super Cup has eluded him.
On Wednesday in Salzburg Emery tries for a fourth time to win the competition, when Villa face Champions League winners Paris St-Germain.
Last season Emery declared he wanted to seal third place in the Premier League because he had not achieved it with Villa.
Finishing fourth was not a failure but it will have rankled with perfectionist Emery.
It will be the same with the Super Cup, but is the competition a glorified friendly or does it really matter?
Emery has suffered defeats by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea - the first two with Sevilla, and then losing on penalties to the Blues in Dublin with Villarreal in 2021.
A 5-4 extra-time loss to a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona in 2015 came a year after Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to earn Real Madrid the trophy.
Emery had already left for PSG by the time Sevilla lost the 2016 Super Cup to Real.
But, at Red Bull Arena against his former side and with 6,000 Villa fans travelling, he has the chance to break his losing streak.
"He [pointing to Villa captain John McGinn] was reminding me last week [about losing to Chelsea]," said Emery.
"Of course, it's an opportunity. A trophy is something that can give us a special moment. To play for trophies is, as a professional, our objective.
"PSG are the favourites but I am looking forward to playing, how we can test this match against PSG with our capacity?
"As a coach, as a player, as a club, it's a trophy. It's one thing that makes us proud of how we are and how we arrive here."
Villa's World Cup trio will miss Super Cuppublished at 21:54 BST 11 August
21:54 BST 11 August
Nick Mashiter in Salzburg Football reporter
Image source, Getty Images
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery confirmed Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and Emi Martinez have not travelled to Austria for the Super Cup.
Villa face Paris St-Germain on Wednesday in Salzburg but will be without the trio after the World Cup.
Konsa and Watkins helped England finish third while Martinez's Argentina were beaten by Spain in the final.
Emery said: "They are not here Konsa, Watkins and Martinez because they finished the season 19 July and I gave them four weeks to rest. It is completely necessary.
"If they were here maybe we could have more chances but at the same time PSG are going to be in the same situation.
"We are preparing this game with the players we started with four weeks ago, I expect to compete with them with our capacity. They are favourites."
Record signing Johan Manzambi is also absent as he recovers from a knee injury and defender Victor Lindelof knows Villa's squad will be stretched as they look to compete in four competitions this season.
He said: "It's always going to be a challenging season when you play in Europe, that's what we want to do. We want to compete at the highest level, especially in Europe. I'm looking forward to it but you need a good squad as well, available and ready to perform.
"It's going to be many games during the season and I think the squad is ready for that."
