Aston Villa have rubbished claims about a bust-up between manager Steven Gerrard and Ollie Watkins.

Newspaper reports in England on Wednesday stated that there was an incident between Gerrard and Watkins, when the latter was left out of the team for their opening weekend Premier League loss to Bournemouth.

However, the claims were refuted by the club's communications director on Twitter.

He wrote in the response to the story: "Absolute nonsense... Some of the nonsense that has been written this week…"

Villa are expected to challenge for a Europa League spot this season, given their summer investment in new players.