As Nicolo Zaniolo continues to struggle to find his best form, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery will rightly stick by him and continue to give him opportunities.
It’s now 16 appearances across all competitions for the 24-year-old in a Villa shirt, but he has yet to register either his first goal or assist for the club.
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The early signs were promising, as he looked confident, determined and free to showcase his abilities, and there was a sense that he just needed a bit of luck to get going.
That requirement for a slice of good fortune is growing more prominent as the weeks go by though, as Zaniolo is now starting to struggle to make a positive impact, let alone be decisive, and the knock-on effect of that is his confidence is seemingly deserting him too.
“It is not rest [leaving Moussa Diaby out vs Bournemouth]. As well it is because we have a player like Zaniolo and we have to get the best opportunity to him to play and to get confidence and to get minutes,” Emery said in his post-match press conference. “Of course, we played on Thursday, today and two matches next week. It’s difficult to set up the same starting XI in those matches. I am sure, not completely, but I think we will change something for Wednesday.”
With qualification for the knockout stage of the Europa Conference League secured, and a hectic upcoming schedule over the festive period in the Premier League coupled with the start of the FA Cup next month, this Villa squad will be tested and stretched, especially if we have further bad luck on the injury front.
The good news for now is that Jacob Ramsey is back to give us another option in the wide positions, Leon Bailey is in excellent form so far this season and John McGinn continues to impress for the most part regardless of his role.
Further, Moussa Diaby has returned to form over the past week, and so we have strong options in those areas to ensure we can continue to compete on multiple fronts moving forward.
However, Zaniolo was added as a key signing this past summer, particularly after the injury blow suffered by Emiliano Buendia, and Emery evidently still believes he can make a significant impact to help us achieve our objectives this year.
Whether it’s enough to earn a permanent move remains to be seen, but ultimately the focus is on the present, and finding a way of getting the Italian playmaker in a rhythm and put him in positions to be effective.
He has talent, there is no questioning that. We’ve seen what he did at Roma and during a short stint at Galatasaray, and there is quality there. If there wasn’t, he wouldn’t have got the move in the summer. The big task now is keeping his confidence up, and continuing to involve him not only to rest others and keep our squad fresh which is important, but to try and add another crucial dynamic to our attack that can make the difference.
The list of players who have come under criticism at some point in their Villa career is endless. Matty Cash, Tyrone Mings, Douglas Luiz, John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Buendia, Leon Bailey and even Ollie Watkins have all been critiqued in some quarters of the Villa fanbase.
They’ve all played a fundamental part in our progression though, particularly under the guidance of Emery, and so it’s hoped that Zaniolo eventually follows a similar path, even though it’s perhaps taken longer than many of us had hoped for. One thing is seemingly clear though, is that the Villa boss will stick by him and continue to give him the opportunities to be a bigger influence.
Arrivederci