Aston Villa Players to Watch This Season

After a disastrous 2012-13 campaign in which they narrowly avoided relegation to England's second-tier of football, Aston Villa will be looking for big improvements throughout the course of the new season.

Boss Paul Lambert has made a number of signings and did so early on in the summer in order to maximise playing time for the squad as they look to gel with their new teammates.

Lambert's vision for his club is to combine a mix of both youthful, promising talent with experienced, strong-headed characters that possess the know-how to survive in one of the toughest leagues in the world.

Since his unveiling as Aston Villa manager back in June 2012, it has been very evident that the Scotsman, along with chairman Randy Lerner, was keen to sort out the weak from the tough, the riff-raff from the quality, the players that were content with mediocrity from the players that wanted to scale the dizzy heights of the Premier League.

Decreasing an astronomical wage bill—the seventh highest in the Premier League, as talkSPORT reported—was also high on the agenda, with players such as Richard Dunne and Jean Makoun II, who have already been sold, along with the likes of Darren Bent and Alan Hutton on the list of those earning huge sums from the Midlands-based outfit.

As a result of looking to curb Villa's expenditure, Lambert has made a number of youthful, encouraging signings that, while many of the players won't have been heard of in England, could, and should, impress throughout the upcoming season.

So here is a look at a few of the Aston Villa players to watch out for this season.

Christian Benteke

Obviously not a new signing, but Christian Benteke is most certainly one to look out for this season. Having scored 19 league goals last campaign, the Belgian forward is one of the favourites to go on to claim the Premier League golden boot this year. Here are my feelings on just why he can do that. 

Wherever the Belgian has played, he has scored goals. In his relatively short club career to date he has notched 70 goals in 151 games—a ratio of one goal every 2.24 games. Even more impressive is his goal-scoring ratio for the Belgian national side. In 50 games, which includes under-17 level upwards, Benteke has found the net 30 times—a strike rate of one goal every 1.6 games.

In July the Belgian forward handed in a transfer request, as The Independent reported, and was linked to a number of high-profile clubs such as Liverpool, Chelsea and even Real Madrid. 

However, just 11 days later, Aston Villa announced that Benteke had pledged his future to the club by signing a new deal that will keep him in the Midlands until 2017. 

With his future sorted and happy with life at Villa, the 22-year-old has had an impressive preseason—notching two goals as Villa beat Malaga in their final warm-up of the summer—and will be sharper than ever as Villa face Arsenal on the opening day of the season.

Jores Okore

One of the few signings that fans may have heard of—if they're avid followers of the Champions League, anyway—Jores Okore featured heavily in Danish side Nordsjaelland's European run last season. The young Danish centre-half performed superbly against Chelsea in the group stages, causing all sorts of problems for Fernando Torres and the vast array of talent on offer at the Stamford Bridge club.

Villa signed Okore in June for a reported fee of just over £4 million—the highest figure for a sale of a Nordjsaelland player. The ambitious defender vowed to make an instant impact in the Premier League to the club's official website, despite dosing off in the MRI machine during his medical, as The Telegraph reported.

Villa boss Lambert expressed his delight at capturing the Danish youngster and is certain that the quality he will bring to the claret and blue side will see them enjoy a better 2013-14 campaign. He told Villa's official website:

"

He's only 20 years of age and that's good but he's also an international player at a really young age and he's played Champions League football as well, which is testament to his potential.

Jores has played in big games but he's a very humble lad and he will be a really good addition to our team and to our squad. I'm pleased that we've signed a player of his stature, for he is someone who can come in and make a huge impact.

"

Aleksandar Tonev

Another one of Lambert's early preseason signings, Villa signed the Bulgarian from Polish side Lech Poznan in June for an undisclosed fee, reportedly in the region of £3 million according to Transfermarkt.

The 23-year-old winger played alongside Villa legend, and current assistant development coach, Stiliyan Petrov for Bulgaria back in October 2011 as he made his debut against Wales.

Strong on both feet, Tonev likes to swap wings and will certainly be a handful for Premier League full-backs this campaign.

Former Villa captain Petrov, who was forced into retirement following a successful battle with Leukaemia, is excited at what Tonev will bring to the Villa side, stating that he will most certainly be a favourite amongst fans. He told Sky Sports:

"

I played alongside Aleks, so I know a little bit about what kind of a player he is. The main thing is that the manager likes him as well and the way he plays.

I think Villa fans have one exciting player on their hands. He doesn't have a dominant foot which is really interesting.

He is the kind of player who can really make an impact in this young, exciting team. We spoke and he is really looking forward to it. He knows that it will be a challenge but he is ready for it.

"

Andreas Weimann

Andreas Weimann signed for Villa in 2007 at the age of 15 after starting his career with Austrian outfit Rapid Vienna.

The forward was an integral part of Villa's reserve side for the following number of years as he looked to gain experience in order to break into the first team. The Austrian enjoyed a superb 2009-10 season for Villa's second-string, finishing as the Reserve South League's top scorer. 

That accolade earned him a brief call-up to the first team before being picked up by Championship side Watford for two loan spells. Weimann didn't exactly set the Championship alight, scoring just four goals in 19 appearances but returned to Villa Park a more experienced, hungry player. A better player.

22-year-old "Andi," preferred to £24 million signing Darren Bent, was a regular for Villa during last season and scored a number of crucial goals—none more memorable than the two against Manchester United at Old Trafford, although Villa eventually lost that game 3-2.

A predatory striker with pace and solid heading ability, Weimann, with a solid season under his belt and brimming with confidence, is sure to be a favourite among Lambert's players this season and will certainly be one to catch the eye.