How Aston Villa could be the masters of their own downfall after Diego Carlos injury

Aston Villa endured a rollercoaster of a campaign last season and Steven Gerrard will be desperate to fix the inconsistency that they suffered throughout.

The former Liverpool midfielder took his first summer transfer window at the club as a chance to bolster the ranks and bring in some big names, making Philippe Coutinho’s stay permanent and also bringing in the likes of Diego Carlos and Boubacar Kamara.

Villa’s transfer business quickly got people talking and many predicted a much more comfortable season for them - and with that comes pressure.

With a much stronger team now, Gerrard is now expected to lead his team to challenge for Europe and anything less will be deemed a disappointment.

The Midlands club suffered a horrific defeat to Bournemouth on the opening weekend of the season, sparking football fans to already claim the Liverpudlian will be the first man out the door this season.

While Villa responded with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Everton last weekend, but the amount of money they’ve ploughed into improving their squad this summer will continue to keep the eye’s of critics closely trained on goings on at Villa Park.

While Kamara arrived on a free transfer, the midfielder automatically becomes their second highest earner on around £150,000, followed by Coutinho (£125,000) - while it is thought that they had doubled Carlos’ wage from Sevilla to pay him £100,000 - after already splashing out £26 million on the 29-year-old.

There is a lot of weight on the new boys shoulders and their eagerness to add such big names to an average squad could come back to bite them, with Carlos’ long-term injury already causing problems.

Aston Villa have confirmed that the Brazilian has ruptured his achilles and is set for six months on the sidelines, with Tyrone Mings likely to replace him in the backline - a defender that has already been stripped of his captaincy and linked with a move away.

Villa’s business this summer could certainly see them enjoy a stellar campaign and Gerrard will be praised, however all eyes and expectations will be on them - one blip for the Premier League club and fans and the pressure will really start to build.

Gerrard needs to get his team performing because terrible showings will be even more obvious when judged alongside the talent they have brought in - especially if Gary Neville’s woeful win percentage at Valencia, for example, continues to top that of the Villa boss.