West Ham v Aston Villa: Plenty of signings but big call surrounds Ollie Watkins

Ollie Watkins has not kicked a ball in anger since England’s Euro 2024 dream died in Berlin little more than a month ago and whether a player who started all but one match in the Premier League last term is ready to hit the ground running is Unai Emery’s biggest selection dilemma for tomorrow evening’s opener at West Ham.

The 28-year-old reported for pre-season training just a week ago last Monday together with Ezri Konsa, Emi Martinez and Jhon Duran, all four having been involved in either the Euro or Copa America finals on July 14.

But while Konsa and Martinez both started the final warm-up fixture at Borussia Dortmund, Duran and Watkins were both absent.

The latter is one of Villa’s best professionals and the question for Emery may be less about fitness and more about match sharpness. Morgan Rogers, utilised as a striker through much of pre-season, is the obvious alternative should the manager opt to name Watkins, who scored 28 goals in all competitions last term, on the bench.

“We added those four players 10 days ago and of course we were very happy they played in the finals,” said Emery earlier this week.

“This week they are training well and they are excited as to how we can face this season.

“The most important thing now is the players we have in the squad. Their commitment is a really huge commitment to increase our level again this year.”

The late return of Villa’s international stars has been another challenge in what has been a tricky summer, with the club using the early part of it to resolve their profit and sustainability issues.

There have been seven new signings so far, though it is in effect eight with January addition Kosta Nedeljkovic only arriving at Bodymoor for the first time last month.

Moussa Diaby and Douglas Luiz were the big-name departures and how effectively Emery adapts Villa’s midfield to cope with the loss of the latter, could go a long way to determining how well they follow up their best campaign in more than a quarter of a century.

The record £50million signing of Amadou Onana, coupled with the captures of Ross Barkley and Enzo Barrenechea earlier in the window mean the manager is far from short of options. Villa hope Boubacar Kamara, an under-rated component of last season’s success, will be recovered from his knee injury toward the end of the year. Emi Buendia is ready to go a year after suffering an ACL injury, with Tyrone Mings just a few weeks further back in his own recovery.

The fixture computer might have been kinder. Both Emery and Villa are yet to win at the London Stadium, while the manager rates the Hammers as strong contenders to challenge in the top half this season. Their new boss, Julen Lopetegui, is from Gipuzkoa, the same Basque province as Emery and boasts a strong record against his counterpart, losing just one of seven meetings.

“My first objective is Saturday,” said Emery. “We have played at West Ham two times with Aston Villa and with Arsenal as well. I did not win there.

“That is my challenge now, to win on Saturday against West Ham. Each match in the Premier League is amazing. There is a huge atmosphere.

“Our supporters, every match we are playing they will be there and we have to try and be together and to listen to our fans as well.”