Unai Emery must attempt to repeat one masterclass he achieved with Douglas Luiz with one of Aston Villa’s transfer targets.
The drama of the summer transfer window has already started to unfold at Villa Park, as Unai Emery prepares to bid farewell to Douglas Luiz.
The Brazilian is poised to make the move to Juventus, as Monchi aims to seal the deal fast with the Italian side to aid Aston Villa’s PSR concerns.
It’s a difficult deal to understand as Villa will receive Samuel Iling-Junior and Weston McKennie in return, a transaction that has left many questioning the strength of the transfer.
Unai Emery must replicate Douglas Luiz masterclass with Weston McKennie
Emery will be disappointed to see Luiz depart, who was one of the most integral elements of the Spaniard’s side at Villa Park.
The manager will now have a significant job on his hands to replace the midfielder, with the arrival of McKennie being somewhat of a positional replacement for the Brazilian.
The work between the manager and Luiz saw a noticeable improvement in Villa’s number six, as highlighted by Aston Villa Statto.
Under Emery, Luiz’s potency in the final third elevated, seeing him score 15 goals and claim 15 assists, numbers that were way above his levels shown under both Dean Smith and Steven Gerrard.
The Spaniard proved that he could get the best out of Luiz in an attacking manner, something he must now replicate in McKennie.
Set to arrive from Juventus, the United States international could use some of Emery’s tactical experience shown in improving Luiz, having only scored 22 domestic goals in 266 career appearances.
Given the Villa boss’ record at improving players in front of goal, Leon Bailey, Ollie Watkins and Luiz for example, McKennie could be heading into the right hands to develop his progressive game.
McKennie can’t be considered as a Luiz replacement
Naturally, Luiz’s pending departure has come as a huge disappointment, particularly with McKennie being considered as the Brazil international’s replacement.
Given the United States international’s dire loan spell at Leeds United, Villa fans rightly have some reservations over the deal.
While McKennie’s time in the Premier League was hugely underwhelming, comparisons to Luiz at this time aren’t useful, given that very few players could replicate what the Brazilian offers to Emery’s set-up.
The Villa target who was once dubbed a ‘monster’ by journalist Tom Fornelli has combative strengths that could bolster the midfield, with there now hope that the boss can mould the 25-year-old in a similar way that he did Luiz.
Only time will tell just how far the former Leeds flop can develop under Emery, with all eyes on the progression of the transfer at present.
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