John Townley's Aston Villa notebook: Onana ignores teammate as McGinn makes 'new signing' admission

John Townley opens up his Aston Villa notebook to look at the latest news and snippets ahead of the clash with Wolves on Saturday (3pm kick-off)

Aston Villa return to Premier League duties this weekend by welcoming West Midlands rivals Wolves to Villa Park following the club's 3-0 win over BSC Young Boys in the Champions League.

Unai Emery's side are targeting only their second consecutive top-flight win against Wolves this weekend having also done so in 2003-04. Villa have won three of their four Premier League games this season, losing the other against Arsenal and given their strong start to the new campaign and Wolves' poor form, they come into the game as favourites.

Only in 1998-99, 2009-10 and 2020-21 have Villa won as many as four of their first five in a single campaign in the competition. They've also started their Champions League campaign in impressive style after making light work of Swiss champions Young Boys at the Wankdorf Stadium.

READ | Morgan Rogers receives two-word message from Cole Palmer after Champions League win

READ | Aston Villa confirm forward has signed new long-term contract after Unai Emery check

AMADOU ONANA

After a tentative first 20 minutes, Villa quickly took control of the game when Youri Tielemans scored the opener before Jacob Ramsey doubled the lead.

Ollie Watkins saw a goal ruled out by VAR due to a handball before the break. He was replaced on the hour mark by Jhon Duran, who also had a goal chalked off by VAR as Amadou Onana handled the ball in the build-up.

Onana made sure Villa left Switzerland with three goals and three points when he crashed the ball past Young Boys goalkeeper David von Ballmoos from distance.

"I could hear Konsa behind me saying don't shoot, don't shoot," Onana revealed after full-time. "But I took my chance and it went in. He [Konsa] tried one in the first half and in the second half I was mocking him! He was like don't shoot and I'm like no, I'm not you mate!"

"It's amazing, an amazing feeling. I don't think we could have had any better start, an away win with the support from the fans."

Asked about his celebration, Onana said: "Yeah, it is becoming a thing, you know. I almost forgot to do it and they were like 'woah' so I had to do it. They reminded me basically. It is my way of saying thank you."

Onana has now scored in each of the three away games Villa have played so far this season against West Ham, Leicester City and Young Boys. He is a threat from set-pieces, especially when following Austin MacPhee's meticulous planning from free-kicks and corners.

"At the beginning of the season the goalscoring is something I wanted to improve, both in open play and set pieces," the midfielder added.

McGINN ON ONANA

Onana joined Villa in July for £50m and is justifying his price tag after an impressive start to the season. Ian Maatsen, Ross Barkley and Jaden Philogene were the other three signings who have stuck around instead of Lewis Dobbin, Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling-Junior - who all left on loan - but have been used sparingly off the bench so far.

Villa skipper John McGinn was asked specifically about Onana after Villa's win over Young Boys, telling TNT Sports: "He adds something different. Dougie was a big loss, I think it was clear we had to sell him, I don’t know the rules, but we had to sell him.

“Onana brings us something different. And Ross, both are really different. Ama, it was another great finish, not sure how clean the strike was!

“But he’s got physicality, he’s young, he’s an absolute beast and it has been quite refreshing with the new faces.”

McGinn added: "Morgan (Rogers) has been like a new signing. The amazing thing is that he still has so much to give. Having him and Jacob (Ramsey), they are local boys and I am pretty jealous they are English! They have so much more to give and that's really exciting for us."

MORGAN ROGERS' DAD

Like Onana, Rogers has also been one of the stand-out performers for Villa so far this term. He is yet to register a goal or an assist, but his overall game has been outstanding.

He continued his fine form into the club's Champions League clash with Young Boys and was one of six debutants in UEFA's elite club competition this week alongside Lamare Bogarde, Ezri Konsa, John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey and Ollie Watkins.

"It’s impossible to say how proud I am, it’s a dream come true," Rogers' dad Howard told TNT Sports. "I dreamed of it myself, but obviously I wasn’t good enough.

"To have your son playing in the Champions League for the first time is just amazing. Just fantastic.

"He’s absolutely loving it. He is so confident and Unai has given him that confidence playing in the right position. He has been fantastic for him.

"To come to Villa, who are now in the Champions League, it’s been wonderful. Loved every minute of it."

CLARET & BLUE CATCH-UP

What do you make of Villa's start to the season? Tell us in the comments below

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