The Aston Villa Courier
Squad17 Aug 2026
Rico Henry gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Rico Henry has just signed for Aston Villa, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Boubacar Kamara in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Aston Villa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Ezri Konsa falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
Graduation day at Aston Villa
2 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Market17 Aug 2026
Stephen Walker steps up from the Aston Villa academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Stephen Walker has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market17 Aug 2026
Aston Villa promote Matthew Bell from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Matthew Bell has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
In brief
- Market Middlesbrough are about to pick up the phone
- Market Talks stall between Aston Villa and Rico Henry
- The terraces The spotlight tightens on Rico Henry
- Squad Ian Maatsen has seen what the next man earns