Aston Villa: Emery could ditch £35m signing by unleashing 6 ft 1 star

The Villans summer signing has had a difficult start to his career in England.

Aston Villa enter the international break on the heels of a 3-0 Premier League loss to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

How did Aston Villa lose to Liverpool?

Jurgen Klopp’s side put the Villans to the sword, as their shoddy defence allowed the Merseyside hosts to win the game with remarkable ease.

Dominik Szoboszlai scored in the third minute after a routine corner into the box was not cleared away from danger and no one came out to close down the Hungary international on the edge of the box, allowing him to unleash a left-footed strike into the far corner.

Darwin Nunez eluded attention from Villa defenders within the area and his effort came crashing off the post and into the back of the net off the unfortunate Matty Cash in the 22nd minute.

Mo Salah scored in the second half after Unai Emery’s team failed to respond to Nunez’s flick-on from a corner, and the Egypt international tapped in from close range.

How did Pau Torres perform against Liverpool?

After a bad performance at the heart of the defense, center defender Pau Torres could be dropped from the starting lineup following the international break, potentially opening the door for Clement Lenglet to come in.

Due to his problems during the game, Express & Star journalist Lewis Cox described his performance as a “nightmare,” awarding him a rating of 4/10, the lowest of anyone on the team.

Torres’ action for the second goal was especially frustrating since he was sluggish to react to a ball over the top to Salah and then looked to jog back as Nunez sprinted ahead of him, giving the striker all the time in the world to select his position from six yards out.

Soon after, his bad marking nearly led to another goal for the hosts, as an in-swinging ball sailed over his head and to Joel Matip, whose effort went just wide of the far post.

He also completed 72% of his attempted passes and had a Sofascore rating of 6.2 despite losing 50% of his aerial battles throughout the game.

The Spaniard has a Sofascore rating of 6.63 in four Premier League games this season and has won 57% of his duels, indicating that he has struggled to adjust to the rigors of English football. Torres has also produced 0.5 tackles and interceptions per game for his team and has been dribbled past 0.8 times per game.

To put it in context, no other Villa defender has averaged fewer than one tackle and interception per game this season, and no centre-back with at least five games managed fewer than 1.8 per game in 2022/23.

None of his central defense teammates have been dribbled past this season, and these statistics show how bad the 26-year-old dud has started life in Birmingham, as he has struggled to win possession back for his side and opponents have found it far too easy to get past him.

This suggests that new acquisition Clement Lenglet, who joined on loan from Barcelona, could be called up to play on the left side of the defense.

How good is Clement Lenglet?

The France international spent the 2022/23 Premier League season on loan with Tottenham Hotspur and is thus a proven performer at this level who may slot directly into the lineup alongside Diego Carlos and Ezra Konsa, injury permitting.

As a left-footed defender, the 28-year-old is an ideal replacement for Torres to give balance in possession on that side of the pitch, as he is comfortable playing the ball out from the back on his preferred left foot. A right-footed centre-back unfamiliar with playing on the left, on the other hand, may struggle to find the appropriate angles to progress the play.

Last season, Lenglet appeared in 26 Premier League games for Spurs, displaying promise with his efforts in and out of possession from defense.

For the London club, the French titan produced 2.2 tackles and interceptions per game and won 56% of his physical contests, while also being dribbled past 0.7 times each game.

No Aston Villa centre-back managed more than 1.9 tackles and interceptions per match in the Premier League last season, indicating that Lenglet could be an excellent option for Emery in terms of his ability to win possession back by reading the game or making a crucial challenge on a consistent basis throughout games.

These data also indicate that the former Tottenham defender has the potential to be a stronger defender than Torres, who was signed from Villarreal for a reputed fee of £35 million this summer due to his superior ability to cut out opposing assaults.

The 6 foot 1 enforcer may also provide a comparable level of quality when it comes to carrying the ball out of the back to advance the team’s play.

Lenglet ranks in the top 6% of his positional counterparts across Europe’s top five leagues for progressive carries per 90 (1.59) over the last 365 days. Torres, on the other hand, sits in the top 2% for progressive carries per 90 minutes (2.11), with the majority of his minutes coming for Villarreal.

This demonstrates that they are both among the best in their position for carrying the ball forward to gain yards on the opposition.

These figures show that Lenglet, who was described as “very strong” by compatriot and former Spurs colleague Hugo Lloris, is not a big downgrade on Torres in terms of what he provides in possession.

As a result, Emery must brutally replace the Spaniard with the loanee from Barcelona, who has the ability to bring greater defensive grit while also offering growth on the ball.