None of Mings, McGinn or Watkins were pencilled in for superstardom or to reach the levels of playing in Europe's blue-chip competition

Aston Villa marched into the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday with an easy 3-0 win over 10-man Club Brugge in their last-16 second leg, giving them a 6-1 aggregate victory and setting up a far tougher task next against Paris St Germain.

Follow live coverage as Brentford face Aston Villa today in the Premier League. Another top-flight season will be covered in full right here with The Independent, as reigning champions Manchester City look to make it an unprecedented five titles in a row come the end of 2024/25.