Aston Villa will look forward to strengthening their squad in January when it comes, albeit Roberto Olabe is already getting to work by sealine some intriguing internal deals at his new club.

Aston Villa suffer surprise loss to Go Ahead Eagles

Despite being overwhelming favourites in the city of Deventer, the Villans suffered a surprising 2-1 loss to Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League on Thursday night, leaving them tenth in the league phase after three matches.

Unai Emery fielded a strong squad including the likes of Emiliano Martinez, Jadon Sancho and Ollie Watkins. However, Evann Guessand’s opener was cancelled out by two strikes from the hosts before Emi Buendia’s missed penalty capped a forgettable night in the Netherlands.

Speaking post-match, the Spaniard urged his side to react after their six-game unbeaten run came to an end, as he said: “This showed us how difficult it is to play away in Europe. Even dominating chances, we conceded mistakes, some chances. We must accept it.

“There is still work to do. We have broken the good form we have and I hope we recover quick. We were very optimistic before the match, but we lost. Now we have to react.”

Ollie Watkins has drawn criticism at Aston Villa from Ian Wright and his one goal in 12 appearances across all competitions is unlikely to convince the masses, albeit the England international is still a supreme force on his day.

Other senior figures were drafted in from the bench to try and save the say, including John McGinn and Matty Cash, but couldn’t work their magic. Intriguingly, TBR report that McGinn and Cash are set to sign contract extensions at Villa Park as Olabe gets to work.

Now, the Villans could be set to see two of their other prize assets put pen to paper at the club as they look to build for the future.

Aston Villa could also tie down Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans

Speaking to the outlet, Graeme Bailey also confirmed Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers are in talks with the club over new deals after McGinn and Cash agreed in principle to remain at Villa Park.

He said: “It is great news for Villa that Roberto Olabe has hit the ground running, it shows a real relationship between him and Emery, that he can come in and just continue talks and indeed make quick progress.

“I am told Cash’s deal is done and McGinn is also agreed in principle. Clearly they want to get these deals done before January, which makes sense as they can then attack the window fully. Talks over a deals for Rogers and Tielemans are also continuing, but are not as advanced at this point.”

Rogers and Tielemans are both key cogs in the Villa machine, evidenced by the fact they have made 185 appearances for the club between them, and the fact there is small progress being made will be music to the ears of supporters.

Despite their appeal on the market, Emery keeping hold of both would greatly help his side’s Premier League prospects, though it remains to be seen whether they can push an agreement over the line.