Aston Villa have recently sealed deals to bring in Ibrahim Mbaye from PSG and Taylor Harwood-Bellis from Southampton.
The Villans have been one of the most active Premier League sides in the summer transfer window. On one side, they have seen their most important players leave. It all started during the World Cup, with Manchester United snatching Youri Tielemans away from them.
Then Chelsea took Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Martinez while Arsenal came in for Ezri Konsa. Ollie Watkins also left in a big-money move to Saudi Arabia and Lucas Digne went back to PSG.
| Player | Transfer type | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Donyell Malen | Permanent | Roma |
| Enzo Barrenechea | Permanent | Benfica |
| Youri Tielemans | Permanent | Manchester United |
| Lewis Dobbin | Permanent | Southampton |
| Oliwier Zych | Loan | Vitoria SC |
| Andres Garcia | Loan | Getafe |
| Morgan Rogers | Permanent | Chelsea |
| Joe Gauci | Loan | Lincoln City |
| Lucas Digne | Permanent | PSG |
| Samuel Iling Junior | Loan | Bolton Wanderers |
| Kosta Nedeljkovic | Loan | Rangers |
| Ezri Konsa | Permanent | Arsenal |
| Emiliano Martinez | Permanent | Chelsea |
| Ollie Watkins | Permanent | Al-Hilal |
But the board went for it when trying to replace those exits. They broke their transfer record for Swiss sensation Johan Manzambi by offering Freiburg £60 million. And an extra £40 million to Wolves for Joao Gomes.
After that, Villa also splashed the cash to sign Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea and now Ibrahim Mbaye from PSG. Plus a few other permanent moves for less money or none at all, whether it was free transfers or loans.
| Player | Transfer type | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Modou Keba Cisse | Permanent | LASK |
| Johan Manzambi | Permanent | Freiburg |
| Joao Gomes | Permanent | Wolves |
| Alejandro Garnacho | Loan | Chelsea |
| Zion Suzuki | Permanent | Parma |
| Matteo Ruggeri | Permanent | Atletico Madrid |
| Aaron Wan-Bissaka | Loan | West Ham |
| Leon Goretzka | Permanent | Bayern Munich |
| Nicolas Jackson | Permanent | Chelsea |
| Taylor Harwood-Bellis | Permanent | Southampton |
| Ibrahim Mbaye | Permanent | PSG |
The last two have been confirmed in the past few hours and they were both in attendance at Villa Park last night when the hosts lost to Arsenal.
How can Ibrahim Mbaye and Taylor Harwood-Bellis help Aston Villa?
Hole in defence
Konsa’s exit to Arsenal left a big gap to fill in Aston Villa’s defence. Harwood-Bellis has been a highly rated young centre-back since his days in the Manchester City academy.
He has also adapted well to a more ball-dominant style at senior level. Under Vincent Kompany both at Anderlecht and Burnley, but also Southampton themselves – even in the Premier League while Russell Martin was there.
In a disastrous, relegation-ending season, the 24-year-old was still one of the only bright sparks in that side. And he has kept improving in possession, being the second defender with the most line-breaking passes in the Championship last year. He also ranked second in long passes completed.
But the one part of the game in which he truly stood out was with his surpsingly high goalscoring tally. Seven goals overall – every single one of them from set pieces, a league-high among all players. Four from corners and three from indirect free kicks. Six of them with his head, too.
Villa currently have solid and experienced defenders for the position. Though both Victor Lindelof and Pau Torres were at fault for the opening goal in their shocking 0-4 loss at Brighton and Hove Albion on opening weekend.
Elsewhere, Tyrone Mings is currently 33 years old and basically pencilled in to miss at least half of the games during the season. The Villans desperately needed one more commanding presence in central defence. Harwood-Bellis seems like a sensible signing considering how much he looks to have outgrown the Championship.
Change in profile on the wings?
Ibrahim Mbaye also may not instantly become a starter, given there are quality players in his position. Though this is a good starting point: his versatility.
Luis Enrique has grown increasingly more flexible with freedom of movement for his players. We now often see Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue switching sides during games or even ending up in the same flank to combine with each other. Bradley Barcola used to come off the bench and play on either side – as well as Mbaye.
Unai Emery has proved quite fond of playing midfielders on the wings, rather than actual wingers. Morgan Rogers, John McGinn, Emiliano Buendia, George Hemmings, players whose game is better suited towards the centre of the pitch and who don’t excel hugging the touchline.
This helped shape the their 4-2-2-2 that we all grew to know and love – and resulted in a European title last year.
Now, however, they may be shifting towards a different approach. Paying nearly £50 million for Mbaye and getting Garnacho from Chelsea could be a sign that things may change this season.
With light weight and quick feet, the Senegalese had the fifth highest average of take-ons attempted per 90 minutes in Ligue 1 last season. Even ahead of teammates Kvaratskhelia, Doue and Barcola, known for looking for one-on-one situations and leave their man behind.
His speed will be a valuable asset for the Villans. And, of course, the prospect of turning into a better player than Leon Bailey and Alejandro Garnacho who are the only other pacy wingers in the squad.
Alysson also fits this criteria to some extent. Despite having a similar game – and features – to Morgan Rogers, the Brazilian is lighter and faster than the Englishman.
Of course, there is a chance Emery sticks to what has worked over the past few years. Maintaining McGinn on the right and playing Manzambi on the left is still very much on the cards, with Mbaye and Garnacho as bench options to change games in second halves.
But we have seen the Spaniard move McGinn to the heart of midfield in desperate situations to accomodate proper wingers on the right. So who knows if he will start doing this right from the start instead of just using it as plan B.