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How Villa midfield is evolving to implement Emery’s principles and vision

Sumeet Paul
While our transfer business this summer is seemingly far from done, the Aston Villa midfield is starting to evolve into Unai Emery’s vision to suit how he wants us to play.

Having opted to sell Douglas Luiz and Tim Iroegbunam, as well as Morgan Sanson on a permanent basis, the process of rebuilding our midfield has picked up pace this summer with an influx of new signings in that department.

READ MORE: Why crucial injury boost is so important for Villa and Emery

Ross Barkley, Amadou Onana and Enzo Barrenechea have come in, and based on what we’re seeing in pre-season, their profiles suit their respective roles and give Emery that all-important control and presence in midfield that are key principles of his style of play and fit the structure with which he wants his side to build a foundation on.

Replacing or replicating what Luiz gave us will not be an easy task, and that responsibility may well be shared across multiple individuals instead of looking to a like-for-like replacement. The decision on whether or not to sign another midfield between now and the end of the transfer window will determine that, while we do still have Youri Tielemans and John McGinn to reintegrate back into the group ahead of the new campaign.

However, in Barrenechea, Emery potentially has a player with the technical ability, composure and passing range to dictate tempo and retain possession in our own third, which gives us rhythm to our build-up play and allows us to play in a patient, methodical way to prise opposing sides open.

As seen in the clip below from our game against Columbus Crew this past weekend, the 23-year-old Argentine has showcased impressive quality so far, as he is efficient both in finding pockets of space to give himself time to pick his head up and play the next pass, and his distribution is accurate as he rarely surrenders possession cheaply.

Admittedly, he will face tougher tests and he has a challenge ahead to reach the top of the pecking order when our internationals return to the fold, but Emery now has a depth option at least who can give him what he wants in midfield as we look to implement a defined way of playing, with control, as always, at the heart of what we’re trying to do.

Then, we have Onana. The Belgian international made his first appearance in a Villa shirt at the weekend, and he didn’t waste any time in displaying what he brings to our midfield, as seen in the clips below.

While he is more than capable with the ball at his feet too, he gives us a physical presence in the heart of the side to break up play and regain possession, while also making us a more imposing side to contribute towards wrestling control away from our opponents in that midfield battle.

Villa must improve defensively this season compared to last year, as we were far too porous at the back and so it’s imperative if we want to kick on and compete at the next level.

Onana’s protection and defensive shielding in front of the backline will be fundamental in that aspect until Boubacar Kamara returns from injury, but he’s another integral piece that’s been added to the squad to help Emery really stamp his mark on this group and make his vision of how he wants us to play a reality.

Barkley will be critical in this process too as his role has been clear through pre-season thus far, having been deployed in the deeper role in the midfield pivot, and he’ll help us control games while having that quality to break the lines and add tempo to our attacking play to expose vulnerabilities in the opposition defence.

While Luiz was excellent for us, particularly with Kamara alongside him, Villa’s midfield is evolving and developing with new signings, and our current crop are undoubtedly Emery signings with a view of being able to execute his game-plan more effectively and consistently with their ability to secure control in games for us.

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