Aston Villa players are starting to prepare for the return of the Premier League on Boxing Day and they are currently in Dubai for a warm weather training camp.
The likes of Matty Cash, Jan Bednarek and Leander Dendoncker have joined the group following their World Cup exits, but Villa’s number one Emiliano Martinez is still going strong with Argentina.
During the players’ downtime in the Gulf, they have been visiting a few exotic animals, with the likes of Douglas Luiz, Philippe Coutinho and Diego Carlos sharing their experiences on social media.
All posted either clips or a photo of ‘Simba’ the lion, including Brazilian midfielder Luiz.
In the comments section of his Instagram post, a certain Villa-linked player, Atletico Madrid’s Matheus Cunha, sent a message directed at his fellow countryman Coutinho by adding ‘you are scared, right?’, as Douglas Luiz was holding the lion, with Coutinho stood behind.
VILLA’S TRANSFER PLANS
It’s going to be interesting to see what doors Unai Emery knocks on next month and who he will allow to depart for the Villa Park exit door.
Mentioning Cunha above, he is a player seemingly on the club’s transfer radar ahead of the winter transfer window opening.
It does seem as though Emery wants to bulk up his attack because, another Atletico Madrid has been linked with a move to B6, and that’s the surprise name of Joao Felix.
That would be one sensational pull from the transfer bag from Villa and the best present the club’s supporters could get ahead of Christmas.
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