Alex McLeish is set to take a 24-man party to Hong Kong for the Barclays Asia Trophy.
The likes of Darren Bent, Gabby Agbonlahor, Fabian Delph, Stiliyan Petrov as well as Stephen Ireland and Stephen Warnock are all in the tour squad, departing tonight for the Far East.
New signing Shay Given travels in the goalkeeping ranks, along with Brad Guzan and Andy Marshall.
Young Lions Gary Gardner, Chris Herd, Shane Lowry, Eric Lichaj, Jonathan Hogg, Nathan Delfouneso and Barry Bannan are also included.
Barclays Asia Trophy Games
Villa take on Blackburn at the Hong Kong Stadium [6pm HK, 11am BST] before Chelsea face Kitchee later that night [8.30pm HK, 1.30pm BST] at the same venue.
The winners will face each other in a final showpiece on Saturday [8.30pm HK, 1.30pm BST] while the losers will lock horns in a third/fourth play-off, which kicks-off before the final [6pm HK, 11am BST].
Manager’s Thoughts
McLeish is relishing participating in the event. – and seeing the players bond while away from their usual surroundings.
He said: “It’s good for the players to get away because if the entire pre-season is at the training, it’s very samey.
“Players train in the morning and afternoon in pre-season but when they leave they obviously go home for the night.
“But when you go on a pre-season tour you’re living with each other and it’s great for the bonding. It’s great for the players to gel and it’s something I have always looked forward to ever since I came into the game as a young professional.
“Pre-season is becoming more and more about these tournaments – and you’re going to come across top-class opposition like we do at the Barclays Asia Trophy.”
Goalkeeper speaks
New signing Given added: “I’m really looking forward to it, especially since I’ve just joined the club.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to spend more time with the lads and get to know them and also for them to get to know me. It’s a great trip for team building. I can’t wait.”
Now an established part of the Premier League’s fixture calendar, the Barclays Asia Trophy is a bi-annual tournament and the only Premier League-affiliated competition to be held outside England.
This is the fifth Asia Trophy, the others having previously been held in Kuala Lumpur (2003), Bangkok (2005), Hong Kong (2007) and Beijing (2009).
Past winners were Chelsea, Bolton, Portsmouth and Tottenham.
Full Squad Listed
Villa Tour Party: Gabby Agbonlahor, Marc Albrighton, Barry Bannan, Darren Bent, Habib Beye, Ciaran Clark, James Collins, Nathan Delfouneso, Fabian Delph, Richard Dunne, Gary Gardner, Shay Given, Brad Guzan, Chris Herd, Emile Heskey, Jonathan Hogg, Stephen Ireland, Eric Lichaj, Shane Lowry, Jean II Makoun, Andy Marshall, Stiliyan Petrov, Stephen Warnock, Luke Young.
The Author
