One Aston Villa star is leading the likes of Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah in a key area this season, but he’s still not completely won over Unai Emery.
It’s been a magnificent season for Aston Villa, who have been rejuvenated by the arrival and influence of Unai Emery.
The Spaniard has implemented a new level of quality at the club and in the squad, with his work notable as the Villans have rocketed from being in 17th place when he arrived, to now sitting in fourth in the Premier League.
A strong tactical plan and a boosted presence in the transfer market, thanks to getting Monchi on board, have helped the Midlands club take the next steps in their development.
Last year, Villa smashed their record transfer fee to welcome Bayer Leverkusen sensation Moussa Diaby to the club, spending £51m to acquire his services.
Read more about Moussa Diaby here
While the Frenchman is yet to hit his best form in the Premier League, the 24-year-old’s quality is noticable in one statistic, where he ranks as one of the league’s best.
The statistic that Moussa Diaby tops Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah in
Diaby got off to a flying start in the Premier League, recording six goal contributions in his opening 10 league games for Villa, scoring on his debut against Newcastle United.
Unfortunately for the France international, his form was not sustainable as his level dropped, seeing Emery drop him to the bench to encourage the record-signing to fight for his place.
Despite being yet to fully win over the trust of the manager, Diaby has been a shining light for Villa off the bench when a moment of quality is needed, as highlighted by one impressive statistic.
As relayed by WhoScored, Diaby ranks as the second-best in the Premier League when it comes to the fewest touches per key pass this season.
On average, Diaby takes just 19.4 touches before making a key pass, an extremely impressive measurement of his creativity and desire to push his teammates.
Most impressively, the Frenchman takes fewer touches per key pass than both Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah, telling of his potency when on the ball.
Moussa Diaby must win over Unai Emery with his undeniable quality
The figures relay that despite his form in front of goal dipping, Diaby’s quality rarely strays far away, with his innate ability to make an impact in the final third always traceable.
That being said, there is a lot of work for the 24-year-old to do in order to win over Emery, who has dropped the record signing to the bench on 12 occasions in the league this season.
The boss has created a highly competitive squad at Villa Park, with rotation available to promote consistency, something that Diaby hasn’t been able to provide.
It’s clear that the former PSG ace is still adapting to his new environment, with his quality there as he continues to perform at a similar level to as he did in the Bundesliga, where he created 14 big chances last season.
So far, Diaby has created 11 big chances for Villa in the Premier League, showing glimpses of his quality when given the opportunity to, giving Emery a high calibre squad member to bolster his depth.
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