Villa News Speaking to Dan Bardell

Sat 12 August 2023 7:10, UK

We’re delighted to welcome Sky Sports journalist Dan Bardell as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…

Moussa Diaby getting 15 goal contributions in his debut Aston Villa season is a “realistic aim” due to Emery’s ability to make his side prolific and Diaby’s goalscoring technique, according to Dan Bardell.

Diaby has come into the Aston Villa team with high expectations from fans, especially after his productive pre-season displays and his quality season last year at Bayer Leverkusen.

While Villa are already a strong goalscoring side, the addition of the Frenchman gives them an extra dimension in their attack and much more pace on the wings.

Bardell has predicted a good season for the Premier League debutant, claiming that up to 15 goal contributions are more than within his means and has the potential to make fans “fall in love with him straight away”.

Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “One thing you can say about Unai Emery’s Aston Villa is that they score goals. There were only two games since Emery arrived where Villa didn’t score.

“Now Diaby’s coming into a team where it’ll be expansive going forward and hopefully he’ll be playing with a lot of competition too.

“For a first season, I would predict 10 to 15 goal contributions as a realistic aim. I’m convinced that this player will suit the Premier League. He’s got the technique where he strikes the ball in terms of backlift. With his shots, there’s very little backlift.

“I think he’s going to score a lot of goals. He’s a really exciting player that I think the fans are going to fall in love with straight away.”

While Villa fans hotly anticipate Diaby’s Premier League season, they too hope they can fall for him and reach his goalscoring potential.

In other Aston Villa news, a pundit has speculated about Lucas Digne’s Villa future amid reports of a big-money Saudi move.