New signing João Gomes made his Aston Villa debut in a comfortable 5-0 win at Walsall to start their preseason campaign.
Unai Emery deployed both regulars and new talent in his squad, and made 10 changes at half-time.
17-year-old Brian Madjo stood out in the first half as he notched a brace, including a smart finish for the opener after he got on the end of a cross from Kosta Nedeljković.
The Villans then made it two as George Hemmings finished low into the bottom right after a clever run into the area.
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Just two minutes later, an Emiliano Buendía strike deflected off his teammate Madjo — but dropped at the youngster’s feet as he converted from close range.
Gomes, who signed for Villa from Wolves for £34 million ($40m) earlier this week, got his first 45 minutes in claret under his belt when Emery rang the changes at the interval.
Luka Lynch then saw a deflected effort find the back of the net before Aidan Borland scored the pick of the bunch.
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The 19-year-old was played in on the edge of the area, before striking it superbly with the outside of his right foot and into Jed Ward’s bottom left corner.
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And while Tai Sodje came close for the hosts from a corner, Walsall were largely outclassed in a game that saw both sides get valuable match minutes in the west Midlands.
Just half an hour after the match’s conclusion, the visitors confirmed that Morgan Rogers had completed his £117 million ($157.28m) move to Chelsea.
The Saddlers will next take on AFC Telford before the League Two season begins, while Aston Villa will fly to the Estádio do Dragão, where they will meet Porto.
