Aston Villa youngster has been tipped to perform fantastically by Unai Emery and has played regularly this season.
Aston Villa might have lost Morgan Rogers and are unable to play Johan Manzambi yet due to his injury. They have not seen Alejandro Garnacho as fully ready to become a starter either. However, Unai Emery does not seem to worry too much, as he has a new winger profile who has been impressive and has become a regular starter this season, including in the last three games and in the UEFA Super Cup. The aforementioned player is George Hemmings.
The Villa boss praised his work so far, as reported by Aston Villa correspondent John Townley in Birmingham Mail.
“He is performing fantastic and getting better. He created one assist for Buendia. He is working in the intensity and kilometres we need. He is doing it. I think he is a player now, clearly, to be in the Premier League.”
The 19-year-old midfielder has featured four times as a starter this season. Despite having made no contribution to any goals yet, his work has impressed Emery. He even gets a nod in the starting XI ahead of the Argentine winger, Alejandro Garnacho, who has been expected to fill the void on the left side of their attack.
In the last outing against Hull City, Hemmings created Villa’s only shot on target, which was denied by The Tigers’ goalkeeper, Konstantinos Tzolakis. He also made one key pass from his 19 passes, with an 89.5% passing accuracy in the match, won one aerial duel, and made 32 touches. He also made one cross, two clearances and one tackle, plus one foul. This shows how Hemmings is capable of contributing well defensively too.
His fine defensive rate did not come instantly. Previously, he was mainly deployed as a defensive midfielder, especially when he was still with the U21 and U18 teams.
However, last season, he operated in his current position and thrived, as he provided one assist for the only goal against Stoke City’s reserve team last April and another assist against Manchester City U21 in the playoff stage. Sadly, they were beaten 3-2 in the process.
In the summer, Emery saw his potential in his pace and acceleration to penetrate the six-yard box on the left side. Thus, he has been playing in that position since pre-season.
Despite playing regularly so far, Hemmings surprisingly did not make the cut for the Champions League squad. The winger is only available in the List B squad instead of the main one.
The reason behind this is probably that he is still considered to be in need of more playing time. He is still 19 and could still thrive and play more regularly in the UCL later. As a winger, he would be in need of improving his game, especially his finishing, passing and crossing. These are essential qualities for a winger at the top level, and games in the UCL are certainly tougher. Players must be at their peak to do just well enough to feature regularly.
Emery wishes to develop him first, alongside Brian Madjo and perhaps Jamaldeen Jimoh-Alooba. They could be unleashed in the UCL next year or, if they are lucky, later in the second half of the season, when all teams begin to square off in the knockout stages.
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