Aston Villa may have found Douglas Luiz replacement as Todd Alcock update emerges at Villa Park
Aston Villa are enjoying one of their best seasons in recent memory under Unai Emery this term as they continue to impress week in and week out in the Premier League.
The Spaniard’s side picked up another big win at Kenilworth Road on Saturday (2 March) as an Ollie Watkins brace and a late header from Lucas Digne ensured that Villa tightened their grip on a top-four place this season.
Once again Douglas Luiz impressed in the middle of the park with an excellent display, but Emery and Villa may have to prepare for life without their Brazilian star as teams are already expected to be looking at him ahead of the summer transfer window.
Replacing Luiz is almost an impossible task, but Emery has one or two young stars plying their trade in Villa’s youth ranks who have shown they may have what it takes to fill the void left by the Brazilian in the near future.
One of those academy stars is Todd Alcock who has been impressive in the Premier League 2 this term and his performances in February have seen him, and his teammate Jamaldeen Jimo-Aloba nominated for the Player of the Month award.
From his deep-lying midfield role, Alcock managed to register two assists while Jimo-Aloba managed to lay on three assists for his teammates and score twice from his more advanced position.
Could Todd Alcock step up if Douglas Luiz leaves Aston Villa in the summer transfer window?
Luiz’s biggest asset for Aston Villa is the fact that he is able to register so many goals and assists from an incredibly deep role in Emery’s system and Alcock’s record in February suggests that he can do the same as the Brazilian, if at a lower level.
Emery has been willing to give young players a shot this season, with Tim Iroegbunam being a regular feature on the first team’s bench following Boubacar Kamara’s season-ending injury against Manchester United.
Whether or not Alcock will be afforded the same opportunities remains to be seen, but he appears to have a skillset that matches Emery’s current midfield options and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him in the first-team sooner rather than later.
In other Villa news, Emery has already reached a decision over Nicolo Zaniolo’s long-term future at Villa Park beyond the end of his loan
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