Aston Villa’s Amadou Onana to face Everton: Unai Emery says midfielder can reach high levels after summer move | Football News

Amadou Onana has equalled his best ever Premier League scoring season with Everton, having scored in each of Aston Villa’s two wins so far, and he has a chance of scoring a third against his former club at Villa Park on Saturday.

Onana’s £50m summer move was an interesting one, with Sean Dyke calling it a “business decision” due to Everton’s financial situation. But the fact that Villa broke the transfer record suggests they saw much more in him than what he showed at Goodison Park.

Former Everton player Michael Ball summed up the mood among Everton supporters by describing the move as “a case of the wrong team being brought in at the wrong time”, even claiming that Tim Irogbunam, who joined from Villa, had shown more than Onana.

But there is also a perception that the player has a lot of natural ability, and it is possible that the 23-year-old midfielder will eventually put all the pieces together – perhaps – right A player who makes the team at the right time – a player too attractive to ignore.

“We signed Amadou Onana because he is young and has great potential,” said Unai Emery. Sky Sports. “We believe in his potential.” The Villa boss will also believe he is a manager who can get much more out of a young player who is still learning the game.

It was a big adjustment for Onana. During international breaks, the Belgian international spoke of the long days, long training sessions and tactical details he had to absorb – something Emery had long been notorious for.

Interestingly, Dyche had said in his pre-match press conference that he would give Iroegbunam space before giving him too much information, but Emery said at Villa’s training ground: Sky Sports What should be done to help Onana?

Onana can reach ‘high level’

Even after the summer tour of the United States, it is a process that has only just begun. The gap between the player Onana is now and the player Emery thinks he can become is huge. “It is a big difference at first, and it is bigger than what we analyzed,” he says.

“But we are confident that we can improve his level in this gap and reach a level where we can consider him a very good player in the future. He is (already) a very good player, but we want him to improve and high “He was able to develop himself further as a player and he helped us a lot in this way.”

Perhaps it is no surprise that the adjustment is important. Onana left a team that threw the most long balls in the Premier League last season to one of the fewest, throwing just 25 more long balls than short-pass specialists Manchester City.

When he travelled to Belgium he said: “Here we play with more possession. We usually keep the ball for a lot longer. Sean Dyke wanted to see more direct football. Long balls. A lot of second balls. With the national team we keep the ball a lot more. It suits me a little bit better.”

Onana’s pass completion rate of 93.3% during his time at Villa is up from 84.9%. It’s a crude statistic, and it’s still early days, but it hints at his ability to keep the ball in his possession, and while his goals have been the focus, he has shown he can handle the ball well.

Possibility of collaboration with Kamara

Emery does not see Onana as a direct replacement for the Brazilian international Douglas Luiz, who left for Juventus. “I have added two players with similar characteristics to Douglas,” he says. “Last year it was Youri Tielemans, this year it’s Ross Barkley.”

Instead, he argues that Onana has “almost the same characteristics” as current fans’ favourite midfielder Boubacar Camara, who is out with an injury. “We want two similar players in each position or a versatile player who can play in different positions.”

Onana can do both, because Emery insists they can play together. “Kamara and Onana can play together. If I didn’t think he could play with Kamara, it wouldn’t have been so easy to sign him,” he explains.

“But we are thinking with Kamara, Amador, Barkley, Tielemans. They can play two players (in any combination), and we can play three of them together in the structure we have. Of course, we have also brought in Enzo Barrenetxea.

“He is a young player who can develop well on his own, develop and become an important player for us. We decided to loan him and in the future we want to bring him in and have him join us. We want him to play in our structure and become an important player.”

Emery joins Everton for tests

That’s for the future. More immediately, there’s Everton at home. A win against Onana’s former club on Saturday evening would be their first win of the season in front of their own supporters at Villa Park and Emery’s side would surely be back in the top four.

The two teams may have different styles, but Dyke has Emery’s respect. “Last year they came here to play in the Carabao Cup and beat us. They won and deserved to win. I know the manager and the players. They are very competitive.

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“They come here because they need points. They’re going to play 100 percent with their players and their team nature. The style they have. But I respect them a lot. We have to focus on our game plan too.

“We won two games but it’s not enough. We have to keep improving.” A message for everyone ahead of this game, but especially for their record signing. Onana is talented. Emery wants him to be even better.

Watch Aston Villa vs Everton live on Sky Sports Premier League from 5pm on Saturday. Kick-off is 5.30pm. Stream it NOW.