Peace Cup, transfers and rumors of transfers. August promises to be a much more productive month than July at Villa Park.

But for the signings of the crocked Stewart Downing and youth players Courtney Cameron and Samir Carruthers, manager Martin O’Neill was mostly inactive for the first five weeks of summer, and the Villa faithful didn’t pass up the chance to get in a panic. Perhaps they needn’t have.

The momentum of Sunday’s Peace Cup triumph carried into Monday, when Aston Villa agreed an eight million pound fee with Leeds United for Fabian Delph. Just 19, the England Under-21 midfielder had been tracked for years by the likes of Arsenal, Newcastle, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur. The reigning League One Young Player of the Year, he will add a creative threat to the Villa midfield.

With Downing and Delph in the bag, O’Neill has adequately compensated for the loss of Gareth Barry. But nothing would enhance his squad’s prospects going forward quite like Holland international Wesley Sneijder. The 25-year-old is currently on the outside looking in at Real Madrid and isn’t in new manager Manuel Pellegrini’s plans. Instead, the Meringues are prepared to take a massive financial loss on the player they signed for 27 million euros from Ajax in 2007.

If Sneijder is flying under the radar at the moment, it’s mostly down to injuries and a packed roster at the Bernebeu. After sustaining a cruciate ligament injury in preseason last August, the Dutchman made just 23 appearances for Madrid and scored a paltry two goals. He had notched nine the year before, and 20 in his final season at Ajax.

Still, he’d come as a bargain at the proposed rate of 18 million pounds. At his best, he’s one of the top attacking midfielders in the world. Given that, he’s also likely to take a long, hard look at Inter Milan before thinking seriously about Villa. Although with him in the lineup, O’Neill’s side would suddenly be a legitimate threat to the top four. That should be the selling point.

So, too, should be Villa’s win in the Peace Cup. Granted, it was only a preseason tournament, but the quality of the opposition and the seriousness with which each side seemed to take into matches made it a gong worth winning. Madrid, for example, were devastated to bow out to Juventus in the semifinals. The Bianconeri, meanwhile, pulled out all the stops against Villa in the final and were quite visibly disappointed at their failure to get a result.

The competition also served to showcase a handful of Villa youngsters with ever-brightening futures at the club. Marc Albrighton immediately comes to mind, as does American right-back Eric Lichaj. Brad Guzan was solid between the sticks as well.

The development of these players, coupled with the signing of Delph and pictures of the players with a trophy above their heads was an ideal way for Villa to enter the final two weeks of preseason preparation. The signing of Sneijder would only boost the feel-good atmosphere suddenly permeating around Villa Park.

Funny what a trophy and a few good players can do for a side.

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