Aston Villa Omit Harwood-Bellis and Madjo From Champions League Squad

Aston Villa have omitted deadline-day signing Taylor Harwood-Bellis and teenage forward Brian Madjo from their squad for the league stage of the Champions League. BBC Sport reported the decision on Friday, with manager Unai Emery acknowledging that the calls were difficult for both the club and the players affected.

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Harwood-Bellis arrived from Southampton on transfer deadline day for an initial £25 million. Despite that late move, the central defender has not been included in Villa's European list. Emery explained that the timing of his arrival factored into the club's assessment, while also pointing to Lamare Bogarde and Boubacar Kamara as players who could provide cover at centre-back if required.

Madjo, 17, is also absent after making an early impression in Europe. He scored Villa's equaliser against Paris Saint-Germain in August's Super Cup, although Villa went on to lose the match 2-1. That remains his only appearance of the season, and Emery said the striker is injured and expected to remain unavailable for at least the next two weeks.

Villa also left Modou Keba Cisse out because of injury. Emery said the club analysed its expected needs across the eight Champions League league-stage matches running through January before settling on the list. He referenced previous selection decisions involving Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia as part of the experience informing the process.

The decision comes after Villa lost their opening two Premier League matches against Brighton and Arsenal. Emery discussed the European selections before Villa's league visit to Hull on Saturday, where his side will seek its first top-flight result of the campaign.

The omissions do not close the door on later European involvement. Emery stressed that Harwood-Bellis has joined Villa for the long term and said both he and Madjo could receive opportunities in Europe after January or in future seasons. For now, Villa will begin their Champions League campaign against Club Brugge on Tuesday, 8 September, without either player in the registered league-stage squad.