Aston Villa boss Unai Emery delighted after signing defender Clement Lenglet

France centre-half Lenglet, 28, is Villa's fifth summer signing after joining on loan for the rest of the season from Barcelona as cover for Tyrone Mings, who sustained a knee injury in the opening-day defeat at Newcastle.

Emery, whose side play at Liverpool on Sunday, told a press conference: “"fter Tyrone Mings' injury, we were analysing how we can face this season playing a lot of matches. Lenglet was a very good opportunity on loan for one year.

"He has experience in Barcelona, Sevilla and Tottenham playing at a high level, playing in Europe.

"I'm very happy with him because he is joining us with his quality, his experience, his capacity to help and support Pau Torres playing on the same side. I'm very happy."

Lenglet, who made 26 Premier League appearances while on loan at Tottenham last season, joins Youri Tielemens, Torres, Moussa Diaby and Nicolo Zaniolo as Villa's summer recruits.

"I'm very, very happy with how we've done in the transfer window," Emery said. "We were joined by some players with experiences, young players.

"We kept a lot of players we had last year, who were being successful with good performances. (Friday) is the last day (of the transfer window) and I'm not waiting for a big surprise.

"I will be very happy with the players we have in the squad for this season, playing in different competitions and trying to be candidates to do something in all competitions."

Villa have allowed Keinan Davis to complete a permanent transfer to Udinese for an undisclosed fee.

The 25-year-old striker made 86 appearances for Villa and had loan spells at Nottingham Forest and Watford before moving to Serie A.

Villa are bidding for a fifth straight win in all competitions after sealing a place in the Europa Conference League group stage on Thursday with a resounding 8-0 aggregate win over Hibernian.

Emery's side sit seventh in the Premier League, one point behind Liverpool, after back-to-back league wins against Everton and Burnley.

"Last year, we played them at home and we lost (3-1). In Anfield, we drew (1-1) in a very competitive match," Emery said.

"It was a key moment because we needed to add one point or three to have the possibility to be in Europe, and we did it."

The Spaniard added: "It's going to very difficult. It's a very big challenge on Sunday because it's not only about the result, but about how we are, how we can face them."

Goalkeeper Emi Martinez could return to contention after a calf strain, while Jacob Ramsey (foot), Emi Buendia (knee), Alex Moreno (hamstring) and Bertrand Traore are still out.

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