Nicolo Zaniolo could already be finished at Aston Villa as Leon Bailey update emerges at Villa Park
With the January transfer window now up and running, Aston Villa will be plotting how best they can strengthen their side to continue their challenge at the top end of the Premier League.
The focus at Villa Park will be adding some extra quality to Unai Emery’s ranks before the window slams shut at the end of the month, but Villa may well have already completed their best piece of business without even signing a new player.
According to Jacob Tanswell (4 January), Leon Bailey is set for new contract talks with Emery’s side to extend his stay in the midlands as he enters the final two years of his current Aston Villa contract.
The Jamaica international has been one of the best players in Emery’s team this season, registering an impressive six goals and five assists in just eight Premier League starts and 10 appearances from the bench this season.
While the news of Bailey’s new contract will likely come as good news to a majority of Villa supporters, it may not be welcomed as well by some at Villa Park, as it could see their opportunities limited. One man this update could seriously impact is Nicolo Zaniolo.
The Italy international has struggled to make an impact in claret and blue during his loan switch from Galatasaray, scoring only twice in 22 appearances for Aston Villa with his last Premier League start coming in the first week of December against Bournemouth.
Zaniolo was hooked by Emery after only 45 minutes of action, having completed only three of his seven attempted passes in the half with a miserable completion rate of only 43 per cent [Fotmob].
Only two of the 24-year-old’s 20 touches came in the final third of the pitch and he was unable to even be effective with the ball at his feet, completing zero per cent of his attempted dribbles, being dispossessed on three occasions.
Without the ball, the Italian international’s performance wasn’t much better as he failed to win the ball with his only attempted tackle and came away with possession in a single one of his nine attempted duels, finishing with a win rate of 11 per cent.
Few players in the Premier League this season have been as ineffective in the final third as the Aston Villa loanee. When compared to his positional peers in the division, he places in the second percentile for pass completion percentage, per 90 minutes, finding teammates with only 64.9 per cent of his efforts [Fbref].
Very few of the Italian’s efforts actually create chances for teammates either as he places in the bottom four per cent of attacking midfielders for assists per 90 and the bottom 19 per cent for expected assisted goals per game.
One of Zaniolo’s key attributes is supposedly his ability with the ball at his feet, but so far this season he has only been successful with 30 per cent of his attempted take-ons, a figure worse than 93 per cent of his positional peers.
Aston Villa do not need a player this ineffective in their ranks this season and now that steps have been taken towards securing Bailey’s future at Villa Park, Emery should move to sanction an early exit for Zaniolo this January as the money spent on his wages would be better used elsewhere.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery has handed one “highly-rated” youth star the perfect chance to develop with a new loan switch