Unai Emery has clear Lamare Bogarde call to make amid Matty Cash injury – here’s why
Unai Emery’s injury problems have worsened further after Aston Villa’s defeat to Chelsea.
Aston Villa‘s hopes of retaining a top four place in the Premier League took a significant blow on Wednesday night, as Chelsea ran out 4-1 winners at Villa Park.
That’s now three league games without a win for Emery‘s side, as well as back-to-back defeats following their 2-0 loss to Wolves in a Midlands derby on 27 February.
As if the night couldn’t get any worse for the Villans, Matty Cash was replaced at half-time through injury, with Emery confirming that the star right-back will undergo a scan on what appears to be a calf problem.
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Lamare Bogarde hasn’t convinced at right-back for Aston Villa
On in Cash’s place came 22-year-old Lamare Bogarde, who is a central midfielder by trade.
However, the Dutchman has filled in at right-back on a couple of occasions this season, but the youngster has largely failed to convince when operating in that position.
This was again the case in the second half against Chelsea, as the Villa academy graduate struggled to make an impact on the game, and didn’t look overly comfortable there.
As per Sofascore, Bogarde lost possession four times in the second half against Chelsea, made zero interceptions or clearances and won one of his two ground duels.
He also failed to register any dribble attempts, made just five carries with the ball, took only 29 touches and recorded a pass success rate of a modest 83 per cent.
Zero key passes were played by Bogarde, nor was he able to make any cross attempts in the match either.
Bogarde has performed significantly better in central midfield this season, and so after his cameo against Chelsea, Emery should be looking elsewhere to answer his Cash-sized right-back problem.
Victor Lindelof would be better option than Bogarde
In the midst of a sizeable list of injuries, Emery does have one standout option to fill the Cash void at right-back instead of Bogarde: Victor Lindelof.
Having played right-back plenty of times over the course of his career, the Swede is more than comfortable operating there, and crucially, is a defender by trade too.
However, the 31-year-old has found gametime incredibly tough to come by in recent weeks, but now could be a prime opportunity to show Emery what he can still offer in his side.
Lindelof would be a safer and more confident player at right-back for Villa than Bogarde, and with their season now hanging by a thread, having as many players he can trust in his starting XI is going to be crucial for Emery.
Therefore, he should at least hand Lindelof the chance to impress when they travel to France to take on Lille in the Europa League next Thursday.
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