Robin Olsen failing to meet Unai Emery demands – Three players who could leave Aston Villa this summer
Although Unai Emery has masterminded a remarkable turnaround at Aston Villa since arriving at the club, a few players have fallen to the wayside in the process.
The likes of Ollie Watkins, Jacob Ramsey and Tyrone Mings have all been the early success stories of Aston Villa’s push for European football under Emery.
The West Midlands club currently sit just three points off Spurs in fifth position with just seven games of their Premier League season remaining.
With a busy summer transfer window expected at Villa Park, here are three players who have struggled to make an early impact and could therefore be on their way out of B6 at the end of the season.
Lucas Digne
Ever since signing at Aston Villa for £25million in January 2022, Digne has never quite settled.
Despite being given the early rule of the roost when Emery arrived at Villa, the arrival of Alex Moreno in the winter window has quickly changed things.
Moreno has started in Villa’s last seven Premier League outings, which has subsequently left Digne playing a bit-part role.
Unfortunately, the French left-back hasn’t been producing the attacking output Emery demands, sitting in the 28th percentile of full-backs for progressive passes (1.86 per 90) while sitting in the bottom 2% of equivalent players for successful take-ons in the last year. [FBREF]
Coupled with the fact Digne completes fewer tackles per 90 (1.62) than Moreno (1.97), it is hard to see the French international forcing his way back into the first team next season.
Philippe Coutinho
Coutinho has been unlucky this season after being plagued with a string of ill-timed injuries that have allowed Emi Buendia to assert his dominance in their personal battle for the playmaker spot in Emery’s team.
The former Barcelona man has only managed to amass a total of 779 minutes across 20 Premier League appearances this term, scoring one goal and failing to produce an assist.
What is more worrying is the far superior stats of his South American counterpart Buendia.
Buendia has managed more shots per game (1.2 v 1.1), more key passes (1 v 0.4) and has a superior passing accuracy (80.% v 78%) and completed more passes per 90 minutes (27 v 17.9).
Considering Coutinho is reportedly Aston Villa’s highest wage earner at £120,000, his departure from the club this summer could free up some much-needed funds for incomings.
Robin Olsen
Although Emi Martinez has earned a reputation as one of the world’s best goalkeepers, his understudy, Robin Olsen, struggled when given his moment in the limelight.
When Villa’s World Cup winner was taking some time away from football after Qatar, Olsen’s limitations in possession of the ball were plainly evident for all to see.
According to FBREF, the Swedish keeper has only managed a pass competition rate of 58.6%, a total that is almost 10% lower than Brentford stopper David Raya (65.3) and almost 20% less than Brighton keeper Robert Sanchez (77.3%) and Fulham number one Bernd Leno (78.6%).
Considering Emery is insistent on his goalkeepers playing out from the back and joining the attacking build-up play, it seems like Olsen could be in trouble when the summer transfer window arrives.
In other Aston Villa news, the club might have found the heir to James Milner after what Unai Emery did against Newcastle.