Aston Villa have undergone plenty of change over the last few months with the appointment of former Arsenal manager Unai Emery just before the World Cup break, and considering how his first two Premier League games in charge went, there is a lot of anticipation at Villa Park.
The 51-year-old took two victories from his debut fixtures as the new Villa boss, beating Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion to leave them 12th in the table after an initial struggle in the top flight.
Emery will be hoping that he can continue his positive influence and impact on the Villains when they return to action after Christmas, and he will be able to put his own personal mark on the team by going into the January transfer window to acquire the services of players who fit his philosophy to improve performances on the pitch.
One man who has been linked with a move to Villa Park this week is Portugal and Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix, who could be absolutely perfect for strengthening the Midlanders’ attacking threat over the second half of the season.
The 23-year-old – who was dubbed “immense” by journalist Thomas Holland – ranks in the top 15% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for assists, progressive passes, interceptions and dribbles completed.
In fact, Emery could land the dream Philippe Coutinho heir in Felix, as the 30-year-old Villa star has not been at his best over the current campaign, and the young Atletico winger has proven to be much more effective in front of goal so far this term.
From the same number of games, the £113m-priced Portugal international has outperformed the Brazilian in many attributes in 2022/23, including goal contributions (6 v 0), shot-on-target rate (47.4% v 37.5%), shot-creating actions per 90 minutes (3.68 v 2.99) and aerial duels won (46.2% v 25%).
Increasing the goal contributions in the team should be the ultimate priority for the powers at Villa Park, as the more chances converted, the more likely it is that the team will pick up the crucial points that they need in order to climb the Premier League table.
With that in mind, the signing of Felix would be a huge coup for Aston Villa and would certainly be a statement of the club’s ambitious intent to not only improve current performances on the pitch but also to build a team which can compete at the highest level for years to come.
