Aston Villa will need to do well in the Sky Bet Championship next season if they are to put smiles back on the faces of their suffering supporters.
Champions League winning manager Roberto Di Matteo is the man who has been tasked with leading the club back to the Premier League and he will face his most difficult managerial assignment to date.
The Italian coach will begin work immediately and there is little doubt that he first job at Villa Park will be to build a squad capable of making an instant assault on the Championship’s top two.
One of the Villains’ main issues last season was keeping goals out and their inability to defend saw them planted firmly at the foot of the Premier League for the majority of the 2015/16 campaign.
Football League World writer Lee Clarke devised a dream back four for Aston Villa as they prepare for life in the Championship.
RB – Micah Richards
The Aston Villa captain is widely expected to stay at Villa Park for next season and he will probably retain the armband too.
Richards will probably stay at the expense of Joleon Lescott who could leave the club after a difficult season at the heart of the Villa defence.
Richards made his name at Manchester City playing in the right-back position and it is there where he could revert back to next season, with the right side of defence still his most natural position.
The defender is still only 27-years-old and he could be a real asset for Aston Villa in the Sky Bet Championship.
CB – Tommy Elphick
Aston Villa look set to secure a deal to sign the Bournemouth central defender in the coming weeks and his arrival will be seen as a real coup for the club.
The 29-year-old was the Cherries’ skipper as they won promotion to the Premier League during the 2014/15 campaign, and was also the influential figure in the back four.
The former Brighton and Hove Albion man is a calming figure at the centre of defence and he would really give Villa a bit of steel.
Elphick still has a lot left to offer and would be a valuable member of the Aston Villa squad should he choose to sign for the club.
CB – Craig Dawson
Aston Villa will probably look to undergo a complete overhaul of their defence this summer and two new central defenders are an absolute must.
Dawson has been utilised in an unfamiliar right-back berth at West Bromwich Albion and for a player it must be mightily frustrating to be a square peg in a round hole.
The 26-year-old might see a move to Aston Villa as a challenge that he wants to take and Roberto Di Matteo will know all about the player, having signed him for the Baggies back in 2010.
LB – Jordan Amavi
French left-back Jordan Amavi is regarded as one of the brightest young talents in French football and it would be a real statement of intent if Villa can persuade the youngster to stay.
A serious knee injury suffered whilst playing for the France under-21s dictated that he only played ten games for the club last season, with his absence sorely missed at times throughout the campaign.
Amavi would probably be the best left-back in the Sky Bet Championship if the club can persuade him to stay, with his presence likely to prove pivotal in whether or not the Villains can mount a serious challenge on the title or not.
Aston Villa fans, what do you make of this back four? Would you be happy to see the team start with this defence in August?