Aston Villa F.C. Under-21s and Academy

The Aston Villa Under-21s, formerly known as Aston Villa Reserves and Aston Villa Under-23s, are the most senior youth development team of Aston Villa and compete in Premier League 2, the Premier League Cup, and the EFL Trophy in the 2023–24 season. The team plays its home games at Aston Villa's training ground, Bodymoor Heath and occasionally Villa Park. Aston Villa also have an academy side that competes in the Under-18 division of the Professional Development League, the U18 Premier League Cup and the FA Youth Cup annually, most recently winning the latter trophy in the 2020-21 season. They also field a youth side in the Birmingham Senior Cup annually.

The team were part of the FA Premier Reserve League since its foundation in 1999 and were winners of the 2011-12 Premier Reserve League South title, the last in that format. The side has been successful in recent decades, as well as becoming national champions in the 2003–04 and 2009–10 seasons, the team also won four out of five Southern Championships between 2007 and 2012, before the format changed to the Professional Development League. The side also won the NextGen Series in 2013, a Europe-wide tournament for elite academies.

Current senior squad players Jacob Ramsey, Tim Iroegbunam, Filip Marschall, Tommi O'Reilly and Omari Kellyman all came through the youth system at the club. Notable former players to have come through the Villa academy include Jack Grealish, Brian Little, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ciaran Clark, Gary Cahill, Gareth Barry, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Darius Vassell, Marc Albrighton, Andreas Weimann, Brian McClair, and Steven Davis among many others. The U21 team is made up of players under the age of 21, although five over-age outfield players and an over-age goalkeeper may be named in a Premier League 2 match squad, these may include fringe first-team players and senior players recovering from injury.