Unai Emery will be thrilled with the achievements of his Aston Villa squad over the 2023/24 campaign however, one star could face a severe drop in game time ahead of next season.
At the start of 2022/23, Aston Villa were led by Steven Gerrard until late October, seeing the English coach drive his squad to win just two of their opening 10 games.
Prior to Unai Emery’s arrival, not many would have expected the mostly same squad to qualify for the Champions League the season after, with the Spaniard’s standards significantly raising the bar at the club.
A fourth-place finish in the 2023/24 campaign saw the Villans restored to Europe’s elite with Champions League football returning to Villa Park next term, in what was a remarkable feat by the manager and his players.
While the class of 2023/24 deserve a magnitude of credit for their tireless work over the season both in the Premier League and in Europe, there may now be some doubt over the status of one player in the starting XI next season.
Why Matty Cash won’t be a starter at Aston Villa next season
Matty Cash can be identified as one of the more replaceable members of Emery’s squad, as the Poland international was used sporadically in the starting XI by the boss towards the end of the campaign.
The right-back is incredibly useful to Villa in the sense that he is the only player of his type at the club, being an attack-minded full-back able to provide support going forward on the right flank.
That being said, his strengths don’t seem to be considered essential to Emery, who prefers to play centre-back Ezri Konsa on the right side of defence to add more defensive structure to that side.
When discussing the players currently at Villa ahead of the summer transfer window on the Claret and Blue podcast, host Dan Rolinson shared his views on Cash’s future at Villa Park by saying, “I think Cash will stay but I don’t think he’ll be a starter next season.”
Having recorded 23 starts over the 2023/24 Premier League season, the right-back had some impressive moments but many average ones, with him not doing enough to win over the manager’s trust to be Villa’s first-choice.
Aston Villa are progressing without Matty Cash
Throughout the season, Cash was criticised for some of his defensive actions, with tensions boiling during Villa’s hard-fought win over Bournemouth after the £16m signing conceded a needless penalty.
A lot of Emery’s success comes down to his tactical requirements, with playing a high line one of the many demands the Spaniard has of his players.
Cash has been caught in a lackadaisical state when stepping up alongside his teammates, playing the opponent onside as a result of a lack of tactical understanding.
For this, it must be questioned whether Villa are growing under Emery beyond the capacity of the former Nottingham Forest defender, who has lost his place over Konsa due to him falling short defensively to the Englishman.
The differences between Konsa and Cash in defensive scenarios are staggering, with the Poland international averaging 1.26 challenges lost per 90 to Emery’s favoured right-back’s mere 0.12 per 90, via FBref.
Added to that, the England international is far more alert to danger, averaging 85.2% of dribblers tackled to Cash’s 49.2% per 90 in the 2023/24 Premier League.
Konsa is Emery’s first choice at right-back, with Cash running out of time to prove to the manager that he has a place in the starting XI, with any new arrivals in the summer adding to the pressures he may face.
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