After getting our pre-season schedule underway this week against Walsall, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery will likely have been pleased with what he saw from both Kosta Nedeljkovic and Enzo Barrenechea.
Villa picked up a 3-0 win on Wednesday night as we had the ideal run-out to get our preparations started for the new campaign, and others certainly impressed too with Ross Barkley putting in a positive performance on his return to the club, while the likes of Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Samuel Iling-Junior and of course Morgan Rogers all showed good early form.
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Naturally though, the focus for many would have been specifically on our summer signings, and both Nedeljkovic and Barrenechea stood out after coming on for the second half, as the pair had a direct influence on our play with their technical ability and intelligence on the pitch.
More importantly though, while we know any player that Emery and Villa sign now will be talented and have the potential to be a key player for us, it’s about fitting into his preferred style of play and structure to flourish as part of the team.
As we continue to build a squad capable of challenging for major honours across multiple fronts, we’ll see more rotation and competition for places, and so it’s imperative that players can come in and out of the team but have a direct impact when asked to step up.
Admittedly, this is based on 45 minutes against Walsall and so it is of course far too early for judgements, but what we did see from Nedeljkovic and Barrenechea was enough to suggest that they will be among the ones to watch this summer to track their development and progress as they continue to adapt to Emery’s demands.
Nedeljkovic, 18, looked assured defensively, and although he’ll obviously face tougher tests, it was a solid starting point. In addition though, he was positive and energetic with his runs forward, with or without the ball, showing athleticism and composure in possession to add an important dynamic to our play down that flank.
As for Barrenechea, the aspect of his performance that stood out was his intelligence in finding space in midfield to give himself time on the ball to scan the pitch and distribute and set the tempo of our play. His positional awareness was impressive, and although he won’t be tasked with solely filling the void left behind by Douglas Luiz, his display was in that mould in terms of what Emery wants from his midfielders to control games.
The 23-year-old also went close with an effort from distance as he grew in confidence, and so it will be fascinating to see more from him and Nedeljkovic over pre-season, as they look to stake their claim and put pressure on the others in the squad for a starting berth moving forward.
The early signs suggest that Matty Cash will come under pressure to cement his place at right-back, and although Barrenechea has a more difficult task when you consider the midfield depth we have with Barkley, John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara when he returns from injury and the expected arrival of Amadou Onana this week, he was signed for a reason by Emery and he’ll surely have faith in him to deliver when called upon.
As hoped for, a really promising first impression from Kosta Nedeljkovic tonight. Defensively assured and eager to push forward showing good technical ability. Much more to come from him 👊🏽🟣🔵#avfc #UTV pic.twitter.com/ohfbLIiO0k
— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) July 17, 2024