Villa acknowledged that they breached the rules for the fifth time last season in their 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Villa Park in May.

Aston Villa's free-kick experts will have been watching with interest as Premier League officials started the new season with a new clampdown. It is a major skill to find the top corner from 30 yards but players will have seen that referees are now taking a close eye on what their teammates are up to as they line up a shot or cross.

Eddie Howe has shared his transfer plans for a key position ahead of the Aston Villa match, while uncertainty over Isak’s future continues.

Fundamentally, Ramsey’s departure is a representation of how Villa’s dreams are being limited or, at the very least, curbed. The 24-year-old was an asset Villa had to sell as a result of various financial restrictions, all blessed with their own acronym.