Several Aston Villa players will have a point to prove to Unai Emery during the club’s pre-season tour in the United States this week and next. Emery’s squad will travel Stateside for a third successive year later this week, having already played two opening friendlies in England and Germany. Villa faced Walsall at the Bescot Stadium last Wednesday, losing 1–0, before taking on German side Hansa Rostock on Saturday, July 19, where they were defeated 3–1. While in the USA, Villa will face Eintracht Frankfurt, St. Louis City SC, and Nashville SC, before returning to the UK to play fellow Europa League contenders AS Roma in Walsall on Wednesday, August 6. Two further matches await the following weekend, with fixtures against Marseille and Villarreal completing the pre-season schedule ahead of the Premier League campaign. Villa are expected to field two different teams in their final pre-season matches, taking on Marseille at the Stade Vélodrome on Saturday, August 9, and Villarreal at the Estadio de la Cerámica the following day. Emery will be hoping to recruit several new players this summer following the departure of three loanees: Axel Disasi, Marcus Rashford, and Marco Asensio. Midfield remains the most well-stocked area of the Villa squad and likely won’t require reinforcements unless an unexpected departure occurs. Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana will be looking to hit the ground running next season after a strong pre-season. Both were signed last summer for over £50m combined but struggled with injuries throughout the campaign. Barkley missed several months due to a knee ligament injury, while Onana was sidelined for long periods with a recurring hamstring issue. Despite those setbacks, Onana impressed during the early and latter stages of the season but missed around 15 games, which hampered his development. Jacob Ramsey - one of the first players to return to Bodymoor Heath for pre-season - will also be aiming for an injury-free campaign. Villa received offers for him last summer, but Emery was determined to keep the academy graduate. Although Ramsey made 29 Premier League appearances last season, he scored only once and will be looking to improve his attacking output. He may feel he has a point to prove to Emery, particularly as Villa are targeting at least one winger in the transfer market. There is also continued interest in Ramsey, with The Telegraph reporting that a potential valuation of over £30 million has been mooted. Donyell Malen is another player Villa fans are eager to see more of after his promising cameos off the bench last season. He made just two league starts following his January arrival but scored in one of them - against Nottingham Forest - and also netted against Brighton and Southampton. Signed from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth £20 million, Malen had to be patient for opportunities. He was even left out of the Champions League squad alongside Andres Garcia after the loan arrivals of Disasi, Rashford, and Asensio. Garcia himself, along with fellow youngster Lamare Bogarde, will be pushing for more regular minutes next season, though playing time is far from guaranteed. Garcia, 22, featured in five of Villa's first six league matches after his £6m move from Levante but failed to make an appearance in the final six games of the season. Bogarde was not involved in the matchday squad for eight of Villa’s last ten fixtures and didn’t make a single appearance after the 4–1 defeat at Crystal Palace at the end of February. Elsewhere in defence, Ian Maatsen will be targeting the position of first-choice left-back ahead of Lucas Digne next term. Signed from Chelsea for £37.5m last summer, the Netherlands international started six of Villa's last eight league games last term.