Samuel Iling-Junior could offer Aston Villa more than just a good performance if Unai Emery makes one change against RB Leipzig.
Aston Villa will look to right their wrongs in the second match of their US pre-season tour in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Unai Emery’s side were dismantled by Columbus Crew in their tour opener, seeing MLS star Cucho Hernandez net a first-half hattrick.
Aside from the heavy defeat, Emery had many positives to take from the fixture as several of his new signings featured, including Samuel Iling-Junior.
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RB Leipzig will be the first opportunity to test Samuel Iling-Junior at left-back for Aston Villa
Signed as part of the Douglas Luiz swap deal with Juventus, Iling-Junior returned to his homeland to join Emery’s exciting project.
The Englishman has played on the left side of midfield so far in Villa’s system however, the manager could be inspired to make a slight tweak to the 20-year-old’s position against Leipzig.
At Juventus, Max Allegri deployed Iling-Junior at left-wing-back, playing on the left flank in front of a static back three.
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Emery could seek inspiration from the Chelsea academy graduate’s time in Turin, starting by fielding the youngster at left-back in the States against the Bundesliga side.
There may be some reservations about possibly jeopardising the attacking qualities that Iling-Junior possesses by playing him deeper, however, a progressive-minded full-back could be what Emery needs.
The rewards Villa could earn if Iling-Junior thrives in positional change
Last season in Serie A, the summer arrival proved his capability to play in defence as he maintained an average of tackling 61.1% of dribblers he faced on the left side, via FBref.
To put such level of performance into perspective, Emery’s first-choice left-back Lucas Digne averaged 56.8% per 90 in the same decimal in the Premier League.
It would be particularly interesting to see how the England U21 ace would fare at left-back in Villa’s system, with no time better than pre-season to trial new ideas.
In the instance that the ‘adaptable’ Iling-Junior did impress on the left side of the defence, Villa could find themselves in a powerful position, not only due to depth.
Signing Ian Maatsen gave Emery a solid first-choice left-back to usurp Digne and now, Iling-Junior could add to the options in that area, giving Villa the legroom to explore market options for either Digne or Alex Moreno.
Both players are high earners at Villa, meaning getting one of the pair off the wage bill would be a huge boost for the club’s finances and particularly, their concerns relating to PSR.
A small tweak in pre-season against Leipzig could give Emery the power to improve the finances at Villa, in what has the potential to be a millions-saving domino effect.
