Unai Emery could look to seal Aston Villa upgrade on Matty Cash this summer
Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery could potentially look to upgrade on Matty Cash this summer.
The right-back was in and out of the Spaniard’s starting line-ups across the season and does not seem to have fully convinced his manager that he deserves to be first-choice in his position.
Ezri Konsa was frequently used on the right side of defence and Emery could choose to persist with that makeshift solution or enter the market in search of an upgrade.
Why has Matty Cash failed to convince Unai Emery?
Cash certainly boasts a number of attacking qualities that make him a dangerous outlet from full-back.
The 26-year-old has taken 33 shots this season, hitting the target with 13 and scoring two Premier League goals – but his xG tally of 4.28 suggests he could have had more [FotMob].
The Poland international has been relatively creative this season too, picking up two league assists from an xA (expected assists) tally of 2.46, and his 55 touches in the opposition box serve to underline his overall attacking threat.
However, Cash does also possess a number of shortcomings that may have sowed the seeds of doubt in Emery’s mind as to his reliability.
The right-back’s dribble success rate of 37.5 per cent in the Premier League is disappointing, and he was dispossessed on 15 occasions this term.
That looseness in possession is not helped by poor defensive numbers in the same competition. His tackle success rate is just 57.4 per cent – he was dribbled past on 30 occasions – and he won just 41.7 per cent of his aerial duels. Overall, his duel success rate was just 47.5 per cent.
Those numbers underline why Emery could well seek an upgrade ahead of next season and opt to use Cash as a squad option or even push him forward onto the right wing – assuming he does not seek a transfer away.
In other Aston Villa news, the club must resist the temptation to cash in on Jacob Ramsey.
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