Aston Villa made it two wins out of three as we head into the first international break of the season with a 2-1 win over Leicester City on Saturday.
Unai Emery sprung a surprise with the Aston Villa side he sent out in the Leicester City win as he started 20-year-old Lamare Bogarde at right-back in the absence of Matty Cash.
18-year-old Kosta Nedeljkovic had been expected to make his first Villa start but was overlooked for Bogarde who impressed in his full debut.
Goals from Amadou Onana and the revitalised Jhon Duran put Emery’s side 2-0 up before Facundo Buonanotte made things a little less comfortable with a 73rd-minute strike to halve the deficit.
Onana communes to impress since his £50 million summer signing but it was a player bought for a tenth of that price who caught Emery’s eye at the King Power Stadium.
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Unai Emery praises Ross Barkley after Aston Villa beat Leicester City
Bogarde aside, Emery named an unchanged side from the team that has started in both games so far this season.
However, the team soon had a different feel to it as Leon Bailey went off injured in the 16th-minute to be replaced by Jacob Ramsey.
Ramsey staked a real claim to start in Villa’s next game against Everton with a strong showing, but it was another substitute who Emery was keen to praise at full-time.
Speaking to the media post-match, Emery was asked how impressed he has been with Onana, who has scored twice in three games already this season.
Emery responded: “His adaptation is being very good and he is understanding quickly everything. We are working with him a lot. He is hungry to grow up because he is young and he has lots of potential. Progressively he is adapting to our structure.”
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However, the Villa boss then name checked Ross Barkley who performed well after replacing Onana in the 62nd-minute, adding: “Today I am also very happy with Ross Barkley. He was fantastic in the minutes he played.”
Could Barkley start for Aston Villa against Everton?
Whilst it was disappointing for Villa to have to sell Douglas Luiz to Juventus this summer to ensure compliance with PSR, they have secured two new midfielders of very different profiles to fill that void in Barkley and Onana.
Three players were bought to replace Luiz if you include Enzo Barrenechea, who joined from Juventus before heading to Valencia on loan earlier this week.
With John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Ramsey – as well as the injured Boubacar Kamara – Emery now has a plethora of midfield options and each will play their part in a season in which Villa compete in the Champions League.
Barkley will not be content with sitting on the bench following his £5 million move from Luton Town and will hope that he was now caught Emery’s eye enough to be in real contention to start against Everton in the first game back after the international break.
