Clement Lenglet deserves Premier League debut with Aston Villa as 97th percentile man shines in Europe
When Tyrone Mings went down with an injury against Newcastle United on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, Aston Villa looked short of defensive cover.
But over the opening months of the season, Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres have formed a centre-back partnership that has proven more than capable of flourishing in the Premier League as Villa sit fifth in the Premier League.
That has left the likes of Callum Chambers, Diego Carlos and Clement Lenglet limited to minutes in the Europa Conference League, but the Frenchman’s displays in Europe have shown that he is more than capable of featuring domestically.
Lenglet is yet to play a single minute in the league this season, but has started all four of Villa’s matches in Europe and demonstrated an ability on the ball that few centre-backs in the Premier League can match.
Of the defenders to play in the Conference League this season, the Barcelona loanee sits in the 97th percentile for passes completed per 90 minutes played, with a remarkable average completion rate of 92.4 per cent [Fbref].
These are by no means just sideways passes to fullbacks or midfielders either, with Lenglet placing in the 91st and 72nd percentile respectively for medium and long-range passes completed per game as he consistently picks out teammates all over the pitch.
Aston Villa have been typically dominating the ball in Europe this season, which makes the 28-year-old’s defensive performances difficult to analyse, but he has tackled 80 per cent of the players who have attempted to dribble past him and only loses one of every four tackles he enters.
Lenglet has shown that he can defend in the Premier League previously, however. While on loan with Tottenham last season, he averaged more tackles won per game than 69 per cent of his positional peers and placed in the 81st percentile for passes blocked.
His biggest weakness comes in the air, where the Villa defender loses more aerials than he wins in most matches, but Konsa has had a similar issue and it hasn’t been noticeable when he’s lined up alongside Torres in defence.
The Frenchman’s immense ability on the ball would provide Unai Emery with another attacking outlet in possession and while he will be reluctant to drop either Konsa or Torres, both players may need a break given their international commitments.
Villa’s next match against Tottenham after the international break may be the perfect chance to hand Lenglet his Premier League debut with Emery’s side, especially against his former club at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
In other Aston Villa news, Leon Bailey must be in line for a start against Spurs after it was revealed he tops the Premier League in one area