Express and Star: Ron Vlaar today spoke of his pride at being handed the Villa captain's armband by manager Paul Lambert. The Dutch centre-back was named as Villa's skipper for the weekend victory over Swansea City, after Lambert decided to give Darren Bent a break from the role to concentrate on scoring goals.

ESPN: Aston Villa's Matt Lowton has been tipped for a future England career by team-mate and Three Lions international Darren Bent. Lowton, 23, joined Villa in the summer for a reported £3million, making a two-division leap from life in League One with Sheffield United.

ESPN: Marc Albrighton has said he hopes to return to Paul Lambert's first team plans at Aston Villa next month. Albrighton, 22, has been sidelined for three months with a stress fracture of the foot, an injury he suffered on the first day of pre-season.

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Sky Sports: Reading midfielder Jem Karacan has ended any uncertainty over his future by signing a new three-year contract at the Madejski Stadium. The 23-year-old, who has come through the academy and already made 125 appearances, was due to be out of contract at the end of the season.

BBC Sport: Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo says the Champions League will be harder to win this season than last year. Chelsea begin their defence against Juventus on Wednesday, in a group also consisting of Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Nordsjaelland.

Sky Sports: Rafa Benitez's agent has denied speculation the ex-Liverpool boss has sounded out AC Milan chiefs about replacing under-fire coach Massimiliano Allegri. Speculation about Allegri's position has been rife after Milan lost their opening two home matches in their worst start to a Serie A season for 82 years.

*The extracts on this page are taken from various newspapers and media outlets. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Aston Villa.