Philippe Coutinho believes he’ll feel the benefit of a strong pre-season as he prepares for his first full campaign as an Aston Villa player.
The Brazilian made a strong impact after joining the club on loan from Barcelona in January before making the move permanent in May.
And the 30-year-old is feeling happy and settled in claret and blue as he builds towards the upcoming season.
He said: “I missed this, training and seeing my team-mates.
“Now we’re together again, it’s great to have time together to know each other better."
Coutinho added: “I feel very happy and I’m looking forward to starting a new season.
“We’re here in camp to have good and hard training sessions to prepare the team well.
“It’s a long time since I’ve had a full pre-season, and I’m feeling very happy.”
Sunday’s Queensland Champions Cup opener against Leeds United will be the first match action of pre-season for Coutinho and several others in the squad.
And the playmaker can’t wait to get back out on to the pitch.
“We’re looking forward to starting this championship here and having a good game against Leeds,” he said.
“We want to do a good job on Sunday and see the new signings play.”
Watch the full VillaTV interview with Philippe below…