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Diego Carlos pushes on at Aston Villa as Unai Emery continues to bench £26m star - BBC pundit
We’re delighted to welcome former Aston Villa full-back Alan Hutton as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Villa Park…
Alan Hutton is thrilled with the defensive performances he’s seen from Aston Villa in recent weeks as Unai Emery’s men extended their unbeaten run to seven matches at the weekend.
Villa’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest at Villa Park on Saturday meant that the Villans have now conceded just two goals in their last seven fixtures.
Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings have won a lot of plaudits at centre-back with big-money summer signing Diego Carlos being unable to come off the bench since his comeback from injury.
Carlos, 30, cost £26million when Villa signed him from Sevilla last June (Sky Sports) but he’s continuing to have to make do with a spot on the bench.
Hutton is a fan of the strength in depth that Emery has at his disposal and also the way the manager has organised his back-four.
“They’ve been excellent,” Hutton told Villa News when speaking of the Villa defence.
“I think they’d worked really hard and of course, they’ve had their moments across the season but Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa have been strong.
“When Diego Carlos is back to fitness, he’ll be pushing them on as well.
“Matty Cash and Ashley Young are going to fight it out at right-back and there’s competition at left-back as well.
“They’re in a good place at this moment in time.
“With the formation that the manager’s playing, his attention to detail is really helping them.
“They’re working so hard. You can be more than happy with their recent performances.”
Only West Ham and Leicester have scored against Villa in the Premier League since their 4-2 defeat against Arsenal on 18 February.
In other Aston Villa news, the club has been told to seal the re-signing of an expensive player amid transfer news.