Aston Villa comment: It's a smashing transfer window

Inheriting a squad relegated from the Premier League and widely accepted to be in need of a dramatic overhaul, the club's new regime have achieved almost exactly that, successfully moving out a succession of unwanted, failure-scarred players and replacing them with ones which, at least on paper, leave them well placed to mount a promotion challenge.

The signings of Jonathan Kodjia and Albert Adomah might be seen in many ways as the icing on the cake though, in the former's case, it is one expensive topping. A fee which could rise to as much as £15million is big money for any player, let alone one who has only been in English football for 12 months.

Villa seem pretty confident they got the right man, however, after a summer in which Hull City's Abel Hernandez was long their preferred target.

One thing Kodjia should certainly provide is pace to a Villa team which is lacking it. Key to his success, and indeed that of the team, will be how quickly he learns to play with Ross McCormack, the club's other big striker signing.

Similarly, the arrival of Adomah should go some way to curing another deficiency in Di Matteo's, namely the lack of natural width. To this point, the manager has preferred to use Jordan Ayew on the wing, with the Ghana international looking far from convincing.

Adomah, who scored eight goals as Middlesbrough were promoted from the Championship last term, will provide the manager with a different option.

The fact he was the fifth of Villa's summer signings to have achieved a promotion from the second tier says everything about the type of characters Di Matteo has been looking to recruit. Last weekend's defeat at Bristol City showed there is still some work to do in terms of the team's mentality but there is no question Villa look a significantly stronger unit than three months ago.

Also not in question is the increased pressure now on Di Matteo's shoulders now he has been successful at getting in many of his top targets. A month ago, the manager was keen to play down expectations, describing getting Villa back into the Premier League as a "two-year plan". After splashing out more than £50million on new players, there can be little doubt his deadline has halved.

Supporters previously prepared to show patience will now rightly expect results and quickly.

At least, after a transfer window which has gone better than he or anyone else dared hope, he has a more than fighting chance of achieving the goal.