As Aston Villa welcomed back two fundamental figures to our squad in midweek, the returns of Jacob Ramsey and Alex Moreno are a pivotal boost for Unai Emery.
Naturally, the technical quality, energy, defensive effort and attacking threat that they add make us a better side immediately, and that dynamic down the left flank was fundamental to our success last season.
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Villa have effectively lost a third of our settled starting XI from last year when considering the injuries sustained by Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia too, and so it should have been expected that we might struggle, or at least be inconsistent, to start the new campaign as we adjusted and integrated new faces.
However, with Moreno back on the bench in Warsaw on Thursday while Ramsey got around 25 minutes in the second half, we now have two key players available again who are capable of making a huge impact on our performances and results.
Moreno made 19 appearances last season after arriving from Real Betis in January, and along with his three assists, his defensive abilities improved significantly, while his speed and offensive play added a crucial new dynamic to our threat out wide on the left to attack the byline and cut the ball back for our attacking players.
As for Ramsey, the 22-year-old scored six goals and provided eight assists in 38 appearances last year, and given all-but one goal and one assist came after Emery took charge, it was clear just how decisive he was as part of the Villa boss’s system and set-up.
Despite being sidelined since the summer after suffering a broken metatarsal while on international duty with England U21s and seemingly only having around a week of full training under his belt, Ramsey immediately showed a goal threat against Legia Warsaw and a hint of what we’ve been missing so far this season.
Add Moreno’s quality to that, and hopefully a more consistent defensive presence at left-back with Lucas Digne’s shortcomings being exposed again in midweek, and we should see a clear improvement in our overall performance as a collective too.
It goes beyond just what they bring to the Villa XI though. It gives Emery tactical flexibility in his selections elsewhere and allows others to flourish in different roles too.
Whether it’s Ezri Konsa moving across to right back when Diego Carlos is back so we can play as a back-three in possession again with Moreno bombing forward down the left to give us width, or John McGinn being permanently moved to the right side of our midfield, or perhaps in the middle when needed too.
There is a better balance to the side with Moreno and Ramsey in it on top of the quality that they offer in both phases of the game, and we’ll hopefully see the former help out compatriot Pau Torres down that side of our defence too if they can develop a strong understanding.
Time will tell if either are considered ready to start on Sunday against Chelsea, but as they close in on full comebacks, it’s a huge boost for us after being forced to deal with several key absences so far this season.