Aston Villa loanee Lino Sousa has given fans a first glimpse of his potential as he made his full senior debut for Plymouth Argyle last night in the Championship.
Aston Villa welcomed 19-year-old Lino Sousa to the club in the January window, signing the left-back from Arsenal’s academy on a four-and-a-half-year deal.
Immediately after joining Villa, the teenager was sent on loan to Plymouth Argyle for the remainder of the 2023/24 calendar to gain vital senior experience.
Securing regular action with the Championship side marks his first spell of experience away from the comforts of playing at academy level, and he recorded his full senior debut last night.
How Lino Sousa played on his full senior debut
After making two short cameos from the bench for Argyle following his arrival earlier this month, the 19-year-old was handed his first senior start yesterday by Ian Foster.
Deployed in the left wing-back role against Coventry City, the teenager showed his worth, with journalist John Townley saying that the defender “impressed” during his 61-minute feature.
As relayed by Townley, no player created more chances or recorded more dribbles than Sousa when he was on the pitch, in a fixture that was well-contended to end in a 2-2 draw.
The Villa loanee’s evening ended with him recording an impressive performance, echoed by his statistics provided by Sofascore.
In 61 minutes on at left wing-back, the teen completed 100% of his attempted dribbles, made two key passes, recorded a pass completion rate of 88% and won four ground duels.
The early signs are encouraging for Lino Sousa and Villa
Reporter for the Plymouth Herald, Chris Errington, rewarded Sousa with a 7/10 match rating, lauding his performance as showing ‘good attacking impetus’ and one that ‘offered lots of promise’.
The statistics show the strengths that the defender could one day offer to Villa, particularly through his ability to attack and defend in the wide areas, something that Unai Emery looks for in his full-backs.
Aside from Lucas Digne and Alex Moreno, the extent of Villa’s current squad that can play left-back is particularly scarce, especially when looking towards the future of the position.
Both Digne and Moreno are 30 years old, which isn’t particularly old but is an age that typically represents nearing the end of the physical peak of a professional footballer.
In hiring Sousa and sending him to get senior experience, Emery could see the position rejuvenated by his presence in the near future, particularly if his form for the Pilgrims continues throughout the remainder of the season.
