By Leo Hewitt-Provost
After the first International break of the season came to fruition last week, all major league matches were set for a return at the weekend: and the Premier League once more showed why it is the most lucrative league in the world and continues to be, with Unai Emery’s Aston Villa side coming back from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 against Everton, with goals from Ollie Watkins, and Jhon Duran, there’s one player who must be under everyone’s radar this season, though and he goes by the name of Amadou Onana.
Is he a gem? Is he a player that is fairly rated, underrated? Most Premier League fans will know who the player is, but how well? The Senegalese international was a bright spark in an otherwise below-par Everton side in most recent years, but most of the Top 6 sides let Amadou Onana slip through the crack this summer, and sole Aston Villa offered Everton the money they wanted for the midfielder, why not snatch the Senegalese powerhouse?
The truth is, Aston Villa signed a player that most will overlook in today’s game, flashy certainly isn’t his middle name, but Onana won’t care about that. He is stronger than most players in Europe and has a fierce character, he’s physically tall, with good passing abilities and his mental strength isn’t to be underestimated. The £60 millions signing looks to be someone that Villa will count on this season, they who qualified for the Champions League. They will need all the depth they can possibly have when the side from Birmingham take part in none other than 4 different competitions this season. And with the new Champions League format, Aston Villa will see themselves potentially playing on Thursdays too, giving the side only two/three days to recuperate before their next league game.
All things considering, it was a smart business move from Aston Villa, they had let go of a crowd favorite in the name of Douglas Luiz in the summer, so they needed a replacement, and someone worthy of wearing the iconic purple jersey. Amadou Onana has stepped up at the start of the season, and will need to remain consistent would Aston Villa advance in the latter stages of the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabo Cup, a tough ask.
With the Champions League also kicking off, Amadou Onana demonstrated discipline in Tuesday’s match against the BSC Young Boys, playing 90 minutes and scoring his second goal of the season for his new team, again controlling the tempo of the match with his serenity and presence.
When Aston Villa boss Unai Emery arrived in England, he had the responsibility of managing a hectic Arsenal side, one that did not gel, so when the Spaniard was told to leave, many questioned whether that was a good choice from the upper echelon at the club. Today, he has a bond with Aston Villa, one that looks to be healthy and strong, and has brought Amadou Onana in, one of the most physical midfielders in the league, with great strength and agility for someone of his calibre, he is THE one to watch this season for Sports-Hop. Aerially, he wins challenges and key battles but also shows that he is able to score goals. And he continues to do so. The Belgium international only just turned 23 years old and has a lot of room to grow to become one of the best midfielders in the world. Considering all of these different factors, it’s not surprising to see that Aston Villa solidified their squad, and particularly with this signing, Aston Villa will look to qualify for the Champions League once more at the end of the season, but how much difficulty will they face along the way? It will not be an easy task for Villa, but with players like Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran leading the line going forward and Amadou Onana for a presence and a voice in midfield, they are certainly capable of proving many people wrong.