Aston Villa have officially announced the signing of Amadou Onana from Everton, in a key move to strengthen Unai Emery’s midfield.
That area of the squad has been in focus this summer, as following the departures of Douglas Luiz and Tim Iroegbunam, it became clear that there was a rebuild ahead in that department.
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While Enzo Barrenechea and Ross Barkley have already arrived to address that issue by giving us more technical quality and composure in possession, Villa have now confirmed the signing of Onana from Everton to complement them.
The 22-year-old joined the Toffees from Lille in 2022, and he has since gone on to make 72 appearances for the club, scoring four goals and providing three assists to go with his overall impact and influence in the middle of the pitch.
With 17 caps for Belgium, Onana has established himself as a top player for club and country, but he’ll now begin a new chapter at Villa, where he’ll hope to secure his spot as a fundamental cog in Emery’s side.
With his physicality, athleticism, height, defensive solidity and technical ability, the Belgian international ticks a lot of important boxes that address what we were lacking, and having gained a lot of experience already even at his young age, he will hopefully prove to be a very important signing in the coming years.
It does add more competition for places in our midfield though with the likes of John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Barrenechea, Barkley and Boubacar Kamara also at Emery’s disposal, but as we look to compete on multiple fronts, including in the Champions League, it’s vital that we have enough quality and depth to last the course of another gruelling campaign with the potential for injuries and suspensions in mind.
Onana will hopefully shore up our midfield with his ability to sweep up danger and break up play and provide a protective shield in front of the backline, as with Villa conceding 61 goals in 38 Premier League games last season, giving us the joint-worst defensive record of the top five sides, it’s certainly an area in which we must improve and become harder to break down.
Particularly as we look ahead to competing against the top teams in Europe too, Onana’s presence in our midfield will be critical in giving us a foothold and control in games consistently as he has the ability to impose himself on the opposition, and paired with his teammates who can set the tempo and tone with their passing, our midfield engine room could now be the heartbeat to what we do positively in both phases of the game.