Unai Emery has pulled of £51.9m steal as Aston Villa star Moussa Diaby world’s fifth best creator
Over the summer transfer window, Unai Emery only made a few additions to his Aston Villa squad as he prepared for their first European campaign in decades.
While Youri Tielemans and Pau Torres arrived permanently, Nicolo Zaniolo and Clement Lenglet signed on season-long loans, but the big addition to Villa Park was Moussa Diaby, with the Frenchman arriving for a club record fee of £51.9 million [The Guardian].
The Frenchman has had an impressive start to life in the Premier League, picking up three goals and assists in his first six matches, however, there are much clearer indicators of just how well he has taken to life under Emery.
According to research shared by the Daily Mail (15 November) the winger is the fifth best “creator” in the world and the best in the Premier League as he sits one place ahead of Liverpool star, Mohammed Salah.
The rankings were made by combining the number of key passes leading to chances and the expected assists of each player per 90 minutes, with the results waited by the level of the match, meaning a key pass in the Premier League would be more valuable than one in the Championship.
Diaby may only have three assists in the league this season, but he currently sits in the 98th percentile of the Premier League’s forwards for expected assisted goals per 90 minutes, with an average of 0.34 xAG a match [Fbref].
On top of that the Frenchman is averaging at least one key pass per half played in the League, a figure which places him above 97 per cent of all forwards in the division. Part of that is because of the sheer number of crosses he makes per game, with only one per cent of attackers making more than him.
The 24-year-old seems to always manage to pick out a teammate inside the penalty area, making just under two passes into the opposition box per match. Partner that with his ball-carrying ability and you have one of the world’s most creative players.
Diaby makes more carries into the box than 89 per cent of the Premier League’s attackers and an average of 3.62 progressive dribbles per game. Even if it hasn’t always resulted in a consistent final product he can drive Aston Villa up the pitch and towards the opposition’s goal.
What Emery needs to figure out is just how Villa start finishing the chances the Frenchman creates as Ollie Watkins alone has missed 12 big chances in the league this season. Diaby should have more than three assists considering he’s created 22 chances in 12 games [Fotmob].
What is for sure is the fact Emery pulled off an excellent deal in signing the Frenchman from Bayer Leverkusen this summer. The figure may have been expensive, but it appears to be worth it to get one of football’s best creators.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery must start Leon Bailey against Spurs after it emerged he is the league’s most regular contributor