Aston Villa: Early Player Rankings and Future Prospects

Image credit: Aston Villa

Mark Oldacres

Two games played; no points, expectations slightly tempered and many lessons learned. It’s been an eventful couple of weeks for Aston Villa on their return to English football’s top table. I’m here to cast an eye and an opinion on Villa’s first two matches, as well as taking a glance at the weeks ahead, and the steps that need to be made to get points on the board.

The Players

Promising:

The Defence

Villa might have conceded five goals already, but the play of the defenders has been the biggest bright spot for Dean Smith’s side thus far and as a whole they’ve earned top spot in my rankings at this early stage of the campaign. Bjorn Engels gets the highest praise from me; he’s looked exceptionally calm with and without the ball and is a perfect partner for fan favourite, Tyrone Mings, who is my second best defender so far. Ty was colossal against Spurs on the opening weekend, as the song says; he was every flipping where (that’s how it goes, right?).  It proved more difficult for TM to exert his physical dominance in week two, as he came up against a pair of strikers in Wilson and King that know him better than almost anyone. So far though, Mings has looked worth every penny of the £21m Villa stumped up to secure his services. Neil Taylor has surprised me with solid defensive displays in both matches, but the Welshman still leaves much to be desired in attack, he comes in third. Ahmed Elmohamady is fourth but has also fared well and has earned himself a contract extension as a result. Elmo contributed to Bournemouth’s opening goal when he failed to close down Ryan Fraser and like Taylor, hasn’t shown enough quality in the opposition’s half, but the Egyptian King has been plenty involved in general play and held up well against top-class opponents in Spurs. Despite his steady play, I was slightly surprised to see him named in Infogol’s Premier League Team of the Week (along with Jack Grealish) for his performance against Bournemouth.

John McGinn

Aside from scoring Villa’s first goal back in the big time, Super John McGinn has been his usual energetic self. There’s still more to come from the Scot, as Jefferson Lerma kept him quiet for parts of the game on Saturday, but he still found a way to influence proceedings by drifting out wide to find space to collect the ball. McGinn hasn’t shown his absolute best yet, but he was a big part of the positive Villa performance in the second half against the Cherries.

Decent (in no particular order):

Jack Grealish

I almost had Jack in the tier below, but after some consideration, and seeing the impressive stat that he created six chances against Bournemouth, he makes it into the middle group. Still, it hasn’t been the rip-roaring start many (including myself) expected from Villa’s main man. He has at times drifted in and out of games and against Bournemouth was too eager to pass the ball on when in position to cause problems himself. Perhaps this was as a result of giving the ball away in the lead up to Spurs go-ahead goal on the opening day, or maybe it was some nerves for the first Premier League game back at Villa Park. The disastrous start to the match can’t have helped his confidence, and like McGinn he was far better in the second half, but Villa need more from their captain moving forward. Grealish has thought of himself as a Premier League player for the last couple of years, it’s time to prove it.

Tom Heaton

If not for one moment of madness, Heaton would certainly be in the top tier. The England international has already pulled off a string of wonderful saves in his short Villa career, but it cannot be understated how much his uncharacteristic error of judgement against Bournemouth impacted the entire game, especially so early on in the match. I’m not worried about Tom though, he’ll be invaluable to Villa this season.

Wesley

Okay, so he hasn’t scored yet, but everybody just relax. Wes hasn’t had many chances to find the back of the net yet, but I’ve no doubt he can play and will bag plenty of goals in time. The Brazilian has led the line admirably so far, in two games where he was fairly isolated by the lack of support from those around him. He’s shown everything I saw from him in pre-season, strength, good feet and the ability to pick a pass as well, he should have an assist to his name after putting the ball on a plate for Trezeguet against Bournemouth. Wesley will be fine, just give him time (and supply).

Douglas Luiz

I was impressed with Luiz on Saturday. After a shaky start (and a mistake which led to Bournemouth’s second goal) he settled down and dictated play from his defensive midfield perch. He’ll make some Villa fans nervous as he likes to take his time on the ball, but he always seems in control and only lost possession once in the last hour of the match (Credit: Villa Analytics). Dougie also showed he’s not just a ‘keep it simple’ player; his long-range goal was absolutely phenomenal. I think Villa have a player on their hands.

Conor Hourihane

He’ll count himself unlucky not to have kept his place against Bournemouth after a steady display at White Hart Lane, but as I’ve said for a long time, Hourihane is not a defensive midfielder. Can he play there? Yes, but Villa now have two more qualified options for that role. Conor shouldn’t be disheartened though, he’ll still be very difficult to leave on the bench considering his set-piece prowess and he’ll push McGinn, Luiz and Nakamba all the way for playing time.

Disappointing:

The Wingers

Anwar El Ghazi and Trezeguet haven’t given Villa enough of a threat so far. Trez performed well against Spurs on his debut when he was given space as Villa looked to counter-attack, but Bournemouth suffocated both Trezeguet and El Ghazi at Villa Park. It didn’t help that Grealish wasn’t having his most influential game, as his presence is crucial to attract defenders and create space for Villa’s wide men. I believe both AEG and Trezeguet can perform at the Premier League level, but it was a disappointing showing on Saturday, as both men were eventually substituted.

Looking Forward…

Villa have an opportunity to right the ship in the next few weeks and secure their first points with Everton and Crystal Palace on the horizon. Dean Smith’s side have shown that they can compete in the Premier League after holding their own against Champions League finalists Spurs and dominating large portions of the match against Bournemouth (although it’s worth noting that it’s easier to do so when you’re already 2-0 down). There’s no reason Villa can’t get four points from the next two fixtures, they will need to improve, though.

As I’ve already alluded to, McGinn and Grealish can still step up a gear or two, at times it felt like Villa were split into two factions against Bournemouth, with a chasm between the back 4 (along with Douglas Luiz) and the rest of the team, it’s up to Super John and Jack to bridge that gap.

Despite my glowing praise for the defence; it’s time for a change at full back. I understand completely why Deano has opted for Taylor and Elmohamady to this point, to keep some continuity from last season after a lot of new arrivals, as well as to help Trezeguet settle in by giving him a familiar face close by. Neil and Elmo have played about as well as I could’ve expected or hoped, but if Villa want to win games in this league, they need to be replaced with Matt Targett and Frederic Guilbert; the attacking threat that the new boys possess is simply a level above the incumbent pairing. As the chart below shows, Elmo was heavily involved against Bournemouth, but without much success. Villa need to score goals, and the full backs will be an important part of that mission by providing overlapping runs and crosses to Wesley. I hope to at least see Guilbert be given a start on Friday, after his exhilarating performances in pre-season, it’s his time to show what he can do.

Make no mistake, Friday night’s match against Everton, live on the telly, is a massive game. If Villa can put on a show and crucially; get at least a point, it will give the squad the confidence to push on and climb the table. This is especially true with Crystal Palace on deck, who were hopeless against Sheffield United in their last outing. Villa have displayed all the signs that suggest they can succeed in the Premier League, now they must produce points.