In the tale of Aston Villa’s historic start to the season, there have been many protagonists. In attack, we have seen the routine brilliance of Jack Grealish, the return of John McGinn to the peak of his powers, as well as the exciting additions of Ollie Watkins and Ross Barkley. Villa’s defence, which morphed into one of the stingiest groups around post-lockdown, has excelled at locking down their opponents so far this term; with Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa building on their promising partnership, Matty Cash taking to the Premier League like a duck to water and Emiliano Martinez finally filling the void of a steady presence between the sticks.
There is one man though, who has assumed a cameo role thus far. Often unheralded, yet influential in the miraculous scramble to safety last campaign, Trezeguet has become an extremely reliable and valuable member of Villa’s line-up.
Arriving from Turkish side Kasimpasa for a modest fee of £8.75million during last summer’s mass recruitment drive, Trezeguet (or Mahmoud Ahmed Ibrahim Hassan) faced an uphill battle to displace play-off final hero Anwar El Ghazi. In his limited opportunities, the Egyptian showed flashes of his ability and a penchant for scoring against tough opponents; finding the net against Liverpool, Wolves and Chelsea in the space of just over a month before later striking in injury time against Leicester to send Villa to Wembley. Despite this, El Ghazi still appeared to be the preferred option for Dean Smith.
In June, there were claims from Turkish news outlets that Trezeguet would leave Aston Villa if they were relegated, which at the time appeared to be a distinct possibility. There were not many Villa fans in the comment section who were devastated by this news, with remarks such as “hopefully he’ll leave even if we stay up” and “worst signing of the summer” bandied about.
Then everything changed.
With hopes of survival hanging by a thread and Dean Smith looking for anyone to step up, Trezeguet answered the bell; scoring three crucial goals as Villa picked up 8 points from their final four games to drag themselves to safety. Villa haven’t looked back and neither has Trezeguet.
When recently asked what is working so well for his club at the moment, Dean Smith referenced a balance to the side in defence and attack. As shown by the average position map below, taken from the game against Leicester (via @PreeceObserver on Twitter), Trezeguet has been an important part of that equilibrium. You can see that Villa’s left side is pushed up considerably higher than the right, with Matt Targett’s average position closer to the opposition goal than Trezeguet’s. Having a midfielder so hard-working and conscious of his defensive responsibilities has afforded Grealish, Barkley, McGinn and Targett the freedom to support Ollie Watkins in attack.
The numbers back up the defensive impact he has had, as Trezeguet has been involved in more defensive duels and performed more defensive actions than any other non-defender in the Premier League so far this season. He also ranks 23rd in the league for aerial duels, 31st for interceptions and 11th for fouls committed per 90 minutes. In a midfield stacked with creativity, the tireless work of Trezeguet has allowed his teammates to be free spirits. However, the winger is just as active in attack, grading in the top 20 for attempted crosses and touches in the penalty area per 90 minutes.
All that graft is not in vain, though. He’s not just banging his head against a brick wall, the flashes of quality are very much still present. Trezeguet registered his first assist of the season in the 7-2 demolition of Liverpool, lurking in his customary back post position from a set piece and putting Ollie Watkins’ hat-trick goal on a silver platter. Trez also ranks 10th in the Premier League for key passes and 4th in expected assists per 90 minutes.
The beauty in the makeup of Aston Villa’s team right now is that they aren’t as reliant on Trezeguet to produce goals and assists as they were last season. By the end of the 19/20 campaign, opposition defences knew that they could focus all of their attention on Jack Grealish, due to the lack of a prolific striker and the underwhelming form of John McGinn, as he worked his way back from injury. Trezeguet rose to the occasion in Villa’s time of need; but with their suddenly potent attack boasting the talents of Grealish, Barkley, Watkins and the real John McGinn, there is now less pressure on Trezeguet to produce. He can be his normal industrious self, and if he contributes on the stat sheet too, then it’s a bonus.
No-one would peg Trezeguet as Aston Villa’s best player, but he has steadily improved during his time at Villa Park and you can guarantee that even if he doesn’t play well, he’s going to put in a shift every single game. It’s that kind of dependability that has allowed him to fend off newcomer Bertrand Traore and deservedly keep his spot in the starting 11.
He was doubted and criticised by fans for much of his first term in England, until he turned the tide and became the saviour of Villa’s Premier League status. He may be flying under the radar to start his sophomore season, but Trezeguet is only getting better and has become a key component in a team that is soaring.
The Villa Ramble 
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