View: Aston Villa must make Finn Azaz call as summer approaches
It has been a stunning 2022/23 campaign for Aston Villa loanee Finn Azaz – and a decision must be made on how the Villans handle the 22-year-old.
Six goals and six assists have seen the attacking midfielder make himself a real hit for Plymouth Argyle, and play a big role in the Pilgrims’ table-topping form. He’s clearly shown he is more than capable of performing in League One and is actually in the top 14 players when it comes to goals scored per 90 minutes in the league.
Furthermore, the 22-year-old has shown his ability to find a killer pass for Steven Schumacher’s team and register four assists in the league. With Unai Emery looking to deploy a system which is fairly dependent on the two attacking midfielders, there’s a chance that Azaz could be well-suited to the Spaniard’s system at Villa Park.
We’ve already seen the likes of Jacob Ramsey impress whilst operating in an advanced role and it would be good to see another younger player break into the Villa first team.
Ramsey has obviously been playing most of his football in the Premier League, but Azaz’s statistics suggest he’s a slightly more creative player, as opposed to a dynamic athlete who’s going to break the lines at will.
He’s had nearly over three times as many shots as Ramsey over the past calendar year and has amassed higher expected goals and assists. If Emery doesn’t feel he is quite ready to be part of his plans at Villa Park, then a Championship loan is required at the very least.
The third tier of English football is well below the level the 22-year-old should be operating at, and it would be a crying shame if he wasn’t given the opportunity he deserves at Villa Park.
In Plymouth’s latest League One victory, Azaz added two assists to his tally for the season and demonstrated that he has the awareness and speed of thought to play at a much higher level.
For Plymouth’s first goal, he already has his head up and is looking at potential options as the ball arrives at his feet. The 22-year-old likes to play quickly and with minimal touches, and his ability to assess where his teammates allow him to do this.
Furthermore, he’s taken up a clever position in between the midfield and defence, which gives him the time and space to execute a perfect pass into Ryan Hardie, who goes on to score.
It was a very similar story for Plymouth’s third goal, as Azaz picks up a pocket of space before feeding an inch-perfect pass in behind the Cheltenham defence for Callum Wright to finish.
A player of Azaz’s mould is something which is potentially missing at Villa Park at the moment – and Emery should look to be integrating him into the first-team fray in the summer. Villa have been active and ambitious in the transfer market of late, but it’s still vitally important to keep one eye firmly fixed on some of their own talents and ensure it doesn’t go to waste.
In other Aston Villa news, a 17-year-old academy prospect has signed his first professional contract with the club.