Aston Villa Under-21

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 (Division 2) of the Professional Development League and the EFL Trophy in the 2022–23 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 and the FA Youth Cup annually, most recently winning that trophy in the 2020-21 season. From 2019, having been promoted back to the Premier League, Aston Villa field an under-21 side in the EFL Trophy against League One and League Two opposition. 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 Keinan Davis, Tim Iroegbunam, Indiana Vassilev, Jacob Ramsey, Carney Chukwuemeka, Cameron Archer, and Jaden Philogene-Bidace 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, Craig Gardner, Marc Albrighton, Andre Green, Andreas Weimann, and Steven Davis amongst many others.