Aston Villa’s defeat to Club America might have given Unai Emery some inspiration with one rarely-seen player.
Unfortunately, Aston Villa fans in the United States were unable to watch their club secure a win during their pre-season tour.
The Villans’ tour of the States concluded with a defeat against Club America, marking three losses from the three fixtures played.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Unai Emery’s side, as some rarely-seen faces were able to impress despite the loss.
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Aston Villa’s Lamare Bogarde was impressive in Club America friendly
Starting next to Pau Torres at centre-back against Club America was academy jewel Lamare Bogarde.
The versatile 20-year-old was instrumental in defence to deny the Mexican side’s threat, fitting seamlessly into Emery’s back line.
Journalist John Townley handed the Dutchman an impressive 8/10 match rating, where he sung the praises of the former Feyenoord starlet, via BirminghamLive.
“Bogarde was excellent on the night. He oozed class on the ball and didn’t look fazed when he was being pressed by the Club America forwards.
“He made a brilliant tackle to deny Club America’s Henry inside the box as he slid in and denied him from striking at goal.”
The 20-year-old’s inclusion was a must as Emery continues to battle the demons of a lack of depth, as Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings are yet to return.
Despite it being a narrow defeat in pre-season, the manner in which Bogarde carried himself could prompt the manager to rethink one plan this summer.
Unai Emery could benefit from keeping Bogarde around
Bogarde has what it takes to succeed at Villa in the near future, with there now an argument to keep the youngster at the club for the 2024/25 calendar.
Taking to X after Villa’s defeat to Club America, Townley explained that the defender is ‘expected’ to leave on loan this summer to gain further experience.
Generating experience outside of the academy is crucial to a young players development; however, it could be argued that Bogarde would be better kept at Villa Park.
Emery has a significant battle on his hands ahead of the new season, with an influx of new faces taking the time to adapt and several first team names still waiting to return.
As mentioned, Konsa and Mings are set to return in the coming weeks respectively, meaning that the manager currently has just two centre-backs to his name – excluding Bogarde.
With Diego Carlos linked with a Villa exit and Torres having injury struggles throughout the 2023/24 season, the last thing Emery should consider is sending a capable youngster on loan.
There is a vast gap between impressing in pre-season and performing in the Premier League however, Villa don’t currently have the defensive depth to sanction a loan.
Keeping Bogarde at the club would give the Dutchman the chance to impress and Emery the chance to add to his depth without having to spend big this summer.
