Aston Villa confirmed their return to the Champions League thanks to Unai Emery’s side’s fourth-place finish in the Premier League, with one star standing out as one of the squad’s most important players.
What a season it was for Aston Villa, who built on their remarkable seventh-place finish last term to claim fourth place in the 2023/24 campaign.
The Villans have been on an upward trajectory since Unai Emery’s arrival, with the Spaniard taking charge when the squad was down in 16th, reinforcing the impact he’s had in his time at the club so far.
The work of Emery would not be possible without the efforts of his players throughout the season, with many stepping up their individual levels under the manager’s guidance.
Ollie Watkins ended the Premier League season with a magnificent 19 goals and 13 assists, being involved in 42% of Villa’s goals in the league to fire the squad towards the Champions League however, another player has been identified as one of Emery’s most important.
Pau Torres was one of Aston Villa’s best in the 2023/24 season
Signed in the summer for £33m from Villarreal, Emery was keen to reunite with Pau Torres, whom he worked closely with in Spain.
Speaking back in 2021 when the player was linked to Arsenal, the boss told football.london that he’d ‘never seen’ a centre-back quite like Torres, making his arrival at Villa extremely exciting.
It’s fair to say that the defender has lived up to the hype in his first season at Villa Park, with statistics now showing just how important the 27-year-old is to the squad.
When starting, Villa lost just four games in the Premier League with Torres in central defence, suffering only one defeat at home in that time.
The Spaniard was part of 16 starts at Villa Park, losing just once throughout the entire campaign, telling of his importance at the back.
Ending the season having secured 27 starts in the Premier League, losing on just four occasions overall saw Torres sport a slim defeat rate of just under 15%, making his £33m price tag seem like a bargain.
Pau Torres signing was the best of the 2023 summer transfer window
Last summer, Villa welcomed Moussa Diaby, Torres, Youri Tielemans, Clement Lenglet and Nicolo Zaniolo to the club, with Torres standing out as the most successful capture.
While Diaby and Tielemans have had impressive seasons at Villa Park, neither were as instrumental to Villa’s success as Torres, who was dubbed a ‘Rolls-Royce’ by TNT Sports’ Lucy Ward during the season.
Not only did the Spaniard bring defensive solidity to the back line, but encouraged Villa to play a more attractive style of football out from the back, something that became routine for Emery’s side throughout 2023/24.
Torres’ progressive play saw Villa welcome a defender with a unique skill set to anyone else at the club in his position, as the 27-year-old conducted a fine first campaign in the Premier League.
The goal for next season will be for the centre-back to remain fit for the duration of the calendar, with it now clear just how crucial having him in the starting XI is for the Villans, who maintained an 85% win rate with Torres starting.
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