The 2021–22 season was Aston Villa's 27th season in the Premier League and their 147th season in English football. The 2021–22 Premier League season was Villa's third consecutive, and their 108th season at the top flight of English football. Along with the league, the club also competed in the FA Cup, being eliminated by Chelsea in the third round, and the EFL Cup, where they were eliminated by Manchester United in the third round.
On 5 August, captain Jack Grealish left the club and signed for Manchester City for £100 million, a record fee between two British clubs. On 7 November, manager Dean Smith was sacked and replaced by Steven Gerrard four days later. There were debut appearances for Leon Bailey, Emiliano Buendía, Lucas Digne, Danny Ings, Calum Chambers, Philippe Coutinho, Robin Olsen, Tim Iroegbunam, Caleb Chukwuemeka, and Aaron Ramsey.
The season was the first since 2012–13 without Jack Grealish and the first full season since 2015–16 without Henri Lansbury, who departed to Bristol City during the 2020–21 season, and Neil Taylor, who departed upon the expiry of his contract before joining Middlesbrough.
The season was also notable for Ashley Young's return from Inter Milan for a second stint at Villa, the first time he played in Birmingham after 2010-11. Players
Friendlies On 2 July 2021, Aston Villa announced their planned pre-season friendlies for the upcoming season. A fifth friendly against Bristol City was later added on July 9. A behind-closed-doors friendly against Crewe Alexandra was organised for 31 July, as a replacement for the cancelled Nottingham Forest match. On 6 August, a friendly against Serie A side Salernitana was organised to replace the cancelled Sevilla match.
July
August
February
April
Competitions Overview
Premier League
League table
Results summary
Results by matchday
Matches The 2021–22 season fixtures were released on 16 June 2021.
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
FA Cup
Aston Villa entered the FA Cup in the third round. The draw for the third round took place on 6 December 2021 at Old Trafford and ended as a 1–0 loss to Manchester United.
EFL Cup
Villa entered the EFL Cup in the second round stage and were drawn away to Barrow. The third round draw took place on 25 August 2021, and Villa were drawn away to Chelsea later losing 4-3 on penalties.
Transfers Transfers in Date Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. 17 May 2021 AM Kyrie Pierre Bristol Rovers Undisclosed 10 June 2021 AM Emiliano Buendía Norwich City £33,000,000 17 June 2021 LB Ashley Young Inter Milan Free transfer 6 July 2021CBJosh Feeney Fleetwood TownUndisclosed 9 July 2021 RB Jayden Barber Fulham Undisclosed 9 July 2021 LW Ajani Burchall Bournemouth Undisclosed 9 July 2021 DM Finley Munroe Chelsea Free transfer 9 July 2021 GK James Wright Manchester City Undisclosed 26 July 2021 CM Finn Azaz West Bromwich Albion Free transfer 29 July 2021 CM Tim Iroegbunam West Bromwich Albion Undisclosed 4 August 2021 RW Leon Bailey Bayer Leverkusen £30,000,000 4 August 2021CFDanny Ings Southampton£25,000,00016 August 2021CFCaleb Chukwuemeka Northampton Town£300,000 3 September 2021 AM Finley Thorndike West Bromwich Albion Free transfer 13 October 2021RWDeclan Frith ChelseaFree transfer 26 November 2021 DF Thierry Katsukunya Coventry City Undisclosed 13 January 2022LBLucas Digne Everton£25,000,000 14 January 2022 CB Kerr Smith Dundee United £2,000,000 27 January 2022CBCalum Chambers ArsenalFree transfer6 March 2022AMOmari Kellyman Derby County£600,000
Transfers out Date Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. 18 June 2021 CB Björn Engels Royal Antwerp Undisclosed 30 June 2021 CM Lewis Brunt Leicester City Released 30 June 2021 CB Brad Burton Alvechurch Released 30 June 2021 CM Jack Clarke Chesterfield Released 30 June 2021 RB Ahmed Elmohamady Free Agent Released 30 June 2021 CM Charlie Farr Free Agent Released 30 June 2021 AM Ben Guy Hednesford Town Released 30 June 2021 GK Tom Heaton Manchester United Released 30 June 2021 RB Callum Rowe Exeter City Released 30 June 2021 CM Harrison Sohna Sunderland Released 30 June 2021 CF Michael Tait Tamworth Released 30 June 2021 LB Neil Taylor Middlesbrough Released 30 June 2021 RB Jake Walker Newtown Released 3 July 2021 CF Mbwana Samatta Fenerbahçe Undisclosed 5 August 2021AMJack Grealish Manchester City£100,000,00023 August 2021CMMamadou Sylla AlmeríaUndisclosed
Loans in Date from Position Nationality Name From Date until Ref.8 August 2021CBAxel Tuanzebe Manchester United8 January 20227 January 2022AMPhilippe Coutinho BarcelonaEnd of season18 January 2022GKRobin Olsen RomaEnd of season
Loans out Date from Position Nationality Name To Date until Ref. 7 July 2021 AM Indiana Vassilev Inter Miami 23 November 202111 July 2021GKLovre Kalinić Hajduk SplitEnd of season 16 July 2021 GK Ákos Onódi Bromsgrove Sporting End of season 26 July 2021 CM Finn Azaz Newport County End of season 28 July 2021LBSebastian Revan Grimsby Town12 January 20222 August 2021RBKaine Kesler Hayden Swindon Town9 January 20226 August 2021CF Louie Barry Ipswich Town3 January 202216 August 2021CF Brad Young Carlisle United4 January 202217 August 2021RWTyreik Wright Salford City14 January 202220 August 2021CMArjan Raikhy Stockport County3 January 202228 August 2021CF Wesley Club Brugge7 January 202230 August 2021CMConor Hourihane Sheffield UnitedEnd of season 31 August 2021 CB Dominic Revan Northampton Town 1 January 2022 31 August 2021CBMungo Bridge Annecy27 January 202231 August 2021RBFrédéric Guilbert StrasbourgEnd of season1 January 2022CFKeinan Davis Nottingham ForestEnd of season7 January 2022CFWesley Internacional1 January 202311 January 2022CMAaron Ramsey Cheltenham TownEnd of season12 January 2022CFCaleb Chukwuemeka LivingstonEnd of season 13 January 2022 RW Anwar El Ghazi Everton End of season 14 January 2022LBSebastian Revan HerefordEnd of season21 January 2022LWJaden Philogene Stoke CityEnd of season 24 January 2022 CF Cameron Archer Preston North End End of season 24 January 2022CMArjan Raikhy Grimsby TownEnd of season28 January 2022CFLouie Barry Swindon TownEnd of season 31 January 2022 RB Kaine Kesler Hayden Milton Keynes Dons End of season 31 January 2022GKJed Steer Luton TownEnd of season31 January 2022LBMatt Targett Newcastle UnitedEnd of season 31 January 2022 RW Tyreik Wright Colchester United End of season 31 January 2022GKFilip Marschall GatesheadEnd of season8 February 2022LWTrézéguet İstanbul BaşakşehirEnd of season5 May 2022AMIndiana Vassilev Inter Miami5 November 2022
Squad statistics Appearances and goals
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players transferred or loaned out during the season
Goals
PlayerPremier LeagueFA CupEFL CupTotal1CF11 Ollie Watkins1100112CF20 Danny Ings70073CM41 Jacob Ramsey60064CAM23 Philippe Coutinho50055RB2 Matty Cash40045CAM10 Emiliano Buendía40045CF35 Cameron Archer00448CM7 John McGinn30038LW21 Anwar El Ghazi102310CB4 Ezri Konsa200210CM6 Douglas Luiz200212LB3 Matt Targett100112CB5 Tyrone Mings100112CB16 Calum Chambers100112RB24 Frédéric Guilbert001112CB30 Kortney Hause100112LW31 Leon Bailey1001 Own Goals 2002 Total520760
Assists Not all goals have an assist.
PlayerPremier LeagueFA CupEFL CupTotal1CAM10 Emiliano Buendía60061CF20 Danny Ings60063RB2 Matty Cash30143CM7 John McGinn40043LB27 Lucas Digne40046CB5 Tyrone Mings30036CM6 Douglas Luiz30036LW21 Anwar El Ghazi10236CAM23 Philippe Coutinho300310CF11 Ollie Watkins200210LB18 Ashley Young2002 10 RW 31 Leon Bailey200213LB3 Matt Targett101113RB24 Frédéric Guilbert001113RW32 Jaden Philogene001113CM33 Carney Chukwuemeka100113CM41 Jacob Ramsey1001 Total390544
Clean sheets
PlayerPremier LeagueFA CupEFL CupTotal 1 1 Emiliano Martínez110011212 Jed Steer0011 Total110112
Disciplinary record
Rank Pos. No. Name Premier League FA Cup EFL Cup Total 1CB4 Ezri Konsa520000522CB5 Tyrone Mings11000001103RB2 Matty Cash800000803CM7 John McGinn800000805CM6 Douglas Luiz700000705CF11 Ollie Watkins700000705CM41 Jacob Ramsey601000708CM19 Marvelous Nakamba500010609GK1 Emiliano Martínez400000409CF20 Danny Ings3000004011RB18 Ashley Young2000103011LW31 Leon Bailey3000003013LB3 Matt Targett2000002013LW21 Anwar El Ghazi2000002013LB27 Lucas Digne2000002016RW10 Emiliano Buendía1000001016CB16 Axel Tuanzebe1000001016CB16 Calum Chambers1000001016CM47 Tim Iroegbunam10000010Total7521020792
Club awards
Player of the Month award Voted for by fans on Aston Villa's official website. MonthPlayerAugustNot awardedSeptemberOctoberNovember Marvelous NakambaDecember Jacob RamseyJanuary Emiliano BuendíaFebruary Philippe CoutinhoMarch Matty CashAprilNot awardedMay Matty Cash
Goal of the Month award Voted for by fans on Aston Villa's Twitter account. MonthPlayerCompetitionOpponentAugust Danny IngsPremier LeagueNewcastle UnitedSeptember Cameron ArcherEFL CupChelseaOctoberNot awardedNovember John McGinnPremier LeagueCrystal PalaceDecember Jacob RamseyPremier LeagueNorwich CityJanuary Philippe CoutinhoPremier LeagueManchester UnitedFebruary Matty CashPremier LeagueBrighton & Hove AlbionMarch Calum ChambersPremier LeagueLeeds UnitedAprilNot awardedMay Philippe CoutinhoPremier LeagueManchester City
End of Season awards AwardWinnerSupporter's Player of the Season Matty CashPlayer's Player of the Season Jacob RamseyYoung Player of the Season Jacob RamseyGoal of the SeasonDanny Ings (vs. Newcastle United, 21 August 2021)
See also List of Aston Villa F.C. seasons
References