Throughout his time as Aston Villa manager so far, Unai Emery has made some impressive signings. Perhaps the Spaniard’s best has been Jhon Duran, who joined from Chicago Fire. The centre-forward has already scored 16 times in 66 games for the club and has recently signed a new contract.
His most expensive purchase so far has been midfielder Amadou Onana. The Belgian cost the Villans £50m over the summer, making the move to Villa Park from Everton. He is one of four players who have cost more than £30m, along with Moussa Diaby, Ian Maatsen and Pau Torres.
One of the biggest success stories so far under Villa’s Spanish boss has been Morgan Rogers.
Rogers’ stats for Villa
22-year-old versatile attacker Rogers has risen to fame over the past 12 months or so, excelling for Middlesbrough in the Championship before joining Villa last February. The Midlands club paid £8m for the Englishman, with the deal potentially rising to £16m including add-ons.
He has been simply sensational for the Villans this season. He has played 15 times this term, scoring three times and registering three assists. In the Premier League, the England under-21 international has three goals and two assists in 11 games.
That included a well-taken goal away to newly-promoted Ipswich.
However, it is not just Rogers’ goals and assists that have meant he has been so good this season. Former Villans player Tony Cascarino praised his dribbling ability, a key feature of the Villa number 27’s game. Speaking on talkSPORT, he explained the attacker “seems to ride the tackles and not get phased”, likening him to Bayern Munich and Germany star Jamal Musiala.
With that in mind, it may be unsurprising that the exciting young talent has recently received his first England call-up. The attacker was brought into Lee Carsley’s final squad – before Thomas Tuchel takes over in the New Year – following several drop-outs through injury.
He will join a host of exciting youngsters in the squad, but will also link up with a former Villa player who is one of the most experienced members of the Three Lions squad.
The former Villa star in the England squad
The player in question here is Kyle Walker. The 34-year-old, who has 90 caps for his country, played for Villa on loan in the second half of the 2010/11 season, joining from Tottenham Hotspur.
It is a move many fans might well forget ever happened, given the success the right-back has had since moving to Manchester City from Spurs in 2017 for £45m up front, with a further £5m in add-ons.
His time at Villa Park was impressive, Walker played 18 times for the club and managed to score twice and grab three assists.
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In the Premier League, the defender played 90 minutes in all but one of his games, 15 to be exact, scoring one goal and registering all three of his assists in that famous Claret and Blue shirt.
It was also during that stint, ironically, that the now veteran star received his first senior call-up for the Three Lions, during Gerard Houllier’s time at the helm.
It is fair to say that, since leaving both Villa Park and more recently, White Hart Lane, the defender has had great success. He has played 310 games for City, with 29 goals and assists to his name.
Walker has been a pivotal figure for Pep Guardiola, as the Spaniard has led City to complete domination throughout his tenure. He has won 17 major trophies, including the treble in the 2022/23 season, capped off by City’s first Champions League title. Following that historic campaign, football presenter Dougie Critchley described him as a “quality” player.
Walker games played for Man City in 2022/23 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Competition | Games | Minutes | Trophy won |
Premier League | 27 | 1962 | Yes |
Champions League | 5 | 282 | Yes |
FA Cup | 5 | 393 | Yes |
Community Shield | 1 | 90 | No |
Carabao Cup | 1 | 46 | No |
Stats from Transfermarkt | |||
Now, Villa fans could be days away from seeing their former loanee right-back lining up for England with their current superstar Rogers.
In many ways, it would be a full-circle moment, with Villans players past and present potentially representing the Three Lions together.
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