Amadou Onana role at Aston Villa under Unai Emery mooted after big-money Everton exit

Amadou Onana will be an automatic starter for Aston Villa following his £50million transfer from Everton, according to Alan Hutton.

The Belgian has put pen to paper on a year contract at Villa Park, despite a late hijack attempt from Manchester United, in a deal worth a reported £50million [BBC Sport, 22 July].

Unai Emery has already made several additions to his midfield ranks ahead of the start of the Premier League season with both Enzo Barrenchea and Luton Town's Ross Barkley making the move to the Midlands.

While the competition for places will only intensify once Boubacar Kamara returns from injury, Hutton believes the former Everton star will be a regular fixture in Emery's side both in the Premier League and Champions League.

"I think this will be a good signing," Hutton exclusively told Villa News.

"He's definitely a powerhouse in the midfield and he can get around the pitch and he is different from Douglas Luiz.

"Luiz will sit back a little bit, I know he will get forward, try and get on the ball and spray it about but I think Onana is kind of all action. He will attack, he'll get forwards, get into the back post.

"He does a big shift over the 90 minutes so he's a guy for £50million he'll come in and I think he's a starter.

"It will be interesting to see how this midfield develops because they've already got another two centre-midfielders that they've brought in as well and then Onana signs.

"Is he going to play alongside Kamara, they've got John McGinn does he move up one? They've got options out wide. There are so many options for them now.

"If anyone can get it right Unai Emery can, I think he's shown that in the past so again it's another interesting development in pre-season for Aston Villa."

How much did Aston Villa pay to sign Amadou Onana in the transfer window?

Villa are going to need a competitive side this season as they embark on their first Champions League campaign in recent memory. A squad with only 11 regular starters won't be able to deal with the added workload.

On top of that Emery is known for tinkering with his starting XIs on a game-by-game basis, so every midfielder in his ranks will more than likely feature regularly at different stages of the campaign.

However, the Villans have forked out such a big fee for Onana that it seems almost a certainty he will be in the XI for the season opener against West Ham United, especially as Kamara continues his recovery from injury.

In other Aston Villa news, Dejan Kulusevski has been backed to "easily" fit in under Emery after a new Villa transfer update emerged

For more Aston Villa news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.