These are quiet times at Aston Villa. Too quiet, some supporters might argue. It is certainly unusual to see a club who have Monchi in charge of transfers taking such a back seat during a trading period.
Monchi is a sporting director – or president of football operations, to give him his official title – who conducts a high number of transactions yet this summer, Villa’s sole senior addition has been Marco Bizot, a 34-year-old goalkeeper signed from Brest.