Aston Villa can already cut ties with Nicolo Zaniolo, Unai Emery doesn’t need him
Aston Villa remain in the fight for the Premier League title after yet another win under Unai Emery. The Midlands club are third in the standings with 38 points after defeating Brentford 2-1 on Sunday (17 December).
It represents their 25th Premier League victory in 2023, their most top-flight wins in a calendar year in the entire history of the club [official Premier League website, 17 December].
Given their current run of form, it remains to be seen whether or not the Spaniard will look to add to his squad next month.
He may, however, look to reduce it after what happened in the victory against the Bees at the Gtech Community Stadium.
The manager turned to his bench for inspiration just after the hour mark, with both Jhon Duran and Leon Bailey introduced. Interestingly, it wasn’t until the 81st minute that Emery decided to bring on loan signing Nicolo Zaniolo.
As per Sofascore, the Italian registered just 13 touches of the ball, made just five passes, lost possession three times, and was not accurate with his one attempted cross.
The 24-year-old failed once again to have a lasting impact on the match, with Zaniolo registering just one goal from his 18 Villa appearances, with no assists recorded so far.
In further misery, the player has picked up five yellow cards under Emery this season, which is certainly not what he was brought to Villa Park for.
Zaniolo’s fellow substitute Bailey did admittedly get more time on the pitch at the Gtech Community Stadium, but he grabbed the assist for Moreno’s opener to kickstart the comeback.
The Jamaican international now boasts eight goals and eight assists in all competitions this season, numbers that Zaniolo should be trying to emulate. But he may not be given the chance, with Emery clearly favouring other attackers over the Galatasaray loanee.
Moreover, fellow attacker Emiliano Buendia is certain to return to the starting XI when he recovers from his serious knee injury, which would push Zaniolo further down the pecking order.
The stunning return of Jacob Ramsey simply adds to the issue for the former Roma man, with the Aston Villa graduate shining with four key passes against Brentford [Sofascore].
Given how Villa want to successfully compete in all competitions, the Italian international looks likely to stay for the entirety of the season, but he must up his game in the coming weeks in order to ensure his place at the club.
In other Aston Villa news, an 86% Aston Villa ace has given Emery a headache after what happened in the 2-1 win against Brentford.