Aston Villa have announced that Inigo Idiakez has been appointed as our new Under-21 coach, replacing Tony Carss.
Villa have made significant changes to the management infrastructure at the club this summer, with Chris Heck arriving as new President of Business Operations, while Monchi was appointed President of Football Operations earlier this month.
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However, those tweaks haven’t been limited to management level, as it has now filtered down to the coaching set-up at Villa, with the club confirming in a statement that Idiakez is now the U21s coach.
As for Carss, he will transition across to become the new Emerging Talent Programme Manager, and so it’s good to see that he still has a role to play despite being replaced in his previous position.
It’s a crucial decision from Villa though, as the link between the U21s side and the senior squad has to be strong, and our philosophy and style of play has to be in sync to allow for an easier transition for our talented youngsters when they make the step up.
As we’ve seen in recent years, but also in pre-season already this summer, there are opportunities for them to play a part in Emery’s plans moving forward, but their development and coaching at U21 level will be fundamental in helping to best prepare them.
Filip Marschall, Seb Revan, Omari Kellyman, Jaden Philogene, Aaron Ramsey, Kadan Young and Cameron Archer have all been included in our pre-season squad for the tour of the USA, while we have the likes of Tim Iroegbunam, Lamare Bogarde, Josh Feeney, Tommi O’Reilly and Kaine Kesler Hayden looking to have big futures with us too.
Emery would undoubtedly have been involved in the decision-making process when considering Idiakez, and so given the pair have history together from their playing days as well as Idiakez’s brother working under Emery at Villarreal, it’s hopefully going to be a strong relationship that will help our youth products make a breakthrough more regularly and be able to stay there.
