Aston Villa secured an impressive 2-1 win over West Ham United on Saturday, with Gabby Agbonlahor singing his praises for one player in particular.
It was a hotly contested affair at the London Stadium but Aston Villa came out on top thanks to a late winner from Jhon Duran, who silenced the home crowd.
Duran was impressive from the bench as he replaced talisman Ollie Watkins, who looked rusty on his return to action in claret and blue.
The 20-year-old was joined by Amadou Onana in looking the part, with the Belgian marking his debut by sending a powerful header past Alphonse Areola inside four minutes.
He patrolled the midfield wonderfully alongside Youri Tielemans and Troy Deeney felt Onana did something special that went unnoticed against West Ham.
There were several impressive performers for Unai Emery on matchday one, including Morgan Rogers, who looked breathtaking at times.
Gabby Agblonahor showers Morgan Rogers with praise after West Ham win
When Villa paid Middlesbrough an initial fee of £8 million to sign Rogers in the January transfer window, eyebrows were raised over his credentials as a Premier League player.
Luckily, the 22-year-old fit into the starting XI like a glove and at the end of last season, he was in fine form, scoring three goals in his final five appearances.
That was enough to peak the excitement of Villa supporters, who were pleased to see him become an important piece of Emery’s attacking puzzle.
Rogers has since continued his form into pre-season and against West Ham, he was devastating at times as the Englishman drove the visitors forward from attacking midfield.
Former Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor was blown away by his display at the London Stadium, with the 37-year-old claiming he’s ‘proving the doubters wrong’ and the fee they paid was a ‘bargain’.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Agbonlahor listed Rogers in his Team of the Week, saying: “What I love about Rogers is he’s proving doubters wrong. When Middlesbrough sold him, Middlesbrough fans were laughing, saying Aston Villa overspent, and look who’s laughing now. We got a bargain because he’s coming to the team with no fear.
“He can play off that left-hand side, he can play as a number 10, and he has just got that ability to close control run with the ball. I watched him last season, especially against West Ham.
“He was drifting into the midfield, he was picking up the ball everywhere, and showing no fear, showing what West Ham fans were expecting of their front-three, but Rogers was getting on the ball, driving through midfield, driving through the left-hand side.”
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How Morgan Rogers can reach the next level at Aston Villa
Agbonlahor waxed lyrical over the youngsters’ display and rightly so, but he also explained what area of his game can improve for the Villa attacker to reach the ‘next level’.
In the win against the Hammers, Agbonlahor believed he should have come away with at least a goal as he had multiple good chances to score but needs to work on his finishing to become an even better player.
“If you look at the chances he had, he will be looking back on that coach home saying, how have I not scored today?,” he added.
“He had some really, really good chances that he has to work on and do better. If he wants to go to that next level of breaking into international football, he has got to do better with his finishing.
“But apart from that, the signs of the way he can dribble with the ball, he can attack, he can commit midfielders and defenders. I think he is a really, really exciting transfer for Aston Villa.”
With only three goals and one assist in 17 appearances for the club, becoming deadly in the final third is certainly where he can improve.
