View: Jan Bednarek debut should ease Aston Villa defensive woes
Aston Villa have not had the best luck with injuries in the early part of the 2022/23 season with a number of key summer arrivals out of action.
Lucas Digne was the latest addition to the long list that Steven Gerrard has to contend with and was out for Villa’s trip to Leeds United.
Ludwig Augustinsson was the man called up to replace Digne at Elland Road and the Swedish international put in a solid display on his Villa debut.
As far as debuts go, a trip to Leeds is about as hostile as you can get, particularly for a player who hasn’t experienced the Premier League.
However, he picked up an injury halfway through their draw at Elland Road and was replaced by Jan Bednarek who also made his Villa debut.
Bednarek’s solid display in a hostile atmosphere will be a boost to Gerrard after, who is now desperately low on defensive options.
As per Wyscout, Bednarek averaged a 60 per cent duel success rate during his second-half cameo and was relatively untroubled.
Furthermore, he was calm and composed in possession, with the Poland international averaging a 97 per cent pass completion rate. He also looked to play forward when he could with 14 forward passes in the second half alone.
If Augustinsson’s injury keeps him out of action for the foreseeable future, then Villa fans will almost certainly get to see Bednarek in action in their upcoming fixtures. His unexpected debut at Elland Road should give Gerrard confidence that he can step up during Villa’s injury crisis.
In other Aston Villa news, Trevoh Chalobah has emerged as a potential January transfer target