Aston Villa have came a long way in the space of just 12 months. After a poor start to the 2022/23 season, Steven Gerrard was sacked and in came Unai Emery as his replacement.
It has turned out to be a wise choice and just over a year after getting rid of the former Rangers manager, Villa currently occupy fifth spot in the Premier League and are playing in the Europa Conference League.
Their turnaround has been nothing short of remarkable and they are now realising their potential. The next step for the Spaniard should be aiming to win a trophy with this current crop of players and, judging by how they are performing so far, it isn’t out of the question.
The former Arsenal boss has enjoyed plenty of success in the transfer market, managing to attract the likes of Pau Torres, Nicolo Zaniolo and Youri Tielemans to the Midlands in the hopes of taking the club to the next level.
One of the more surprising moves of the summer transfer window was the fact Villa splashed out a club record £51m fee for French winger Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen.
The highly sought after talent has so far impressed at Villa Park, and he could be an integral player in Emery’s Villa revolution.
Moussa Diaby’s season in numbers
The former Paris Saint-Germain starlet scored 14 goals along with registering 11 assists last season in Germany, and his form in front of goal attracted interest from across the continent.
It was a real statement of intent by Villa to secure his signature, especially with the club record fee, and there was a lot of hype surrounding his arrival.
The right-winger has scored three times and grabbed three assists in 17 games thus far and while these figures aren’t eye-catching, he is clearly still acclimatising to the Premier League and the more he plays, the better he will perform.
The 24-year-old currently ranks third in the squad for goals and assists (six) in the top flight, while also ranking second for shots per game (2.1), first for big chances created (seven) and second for key passes per game (1.8), which suggests that despite not scoring as often as anticipated, his statistics regarding several attacking metrics are impressive and this should lead to an increased goal tally sooner rather than later.
Emery appears to have found a formula which is working to great effect, yet he has a player out on loan who has scored just as often as Diaby.
Philippe Coutinho looked like he was going to be Villa’s saviour when he first arrived on loan from Barcelona, but it's safe to say the previous 18 months have been rather underwhelming.
Could his form for Al-Duhail suggest that Emery perhaps made a mistake loaning him out for the season?
Philippe Coutinho’s Aston Villa statistics
The Brazilian dynamo arrived at Gerrard’s behest back in January 2022 on a six-month loan deal as he was looking to spur Villa on to a solid Premier League finish – and the former Liverpool gem demonstrated his world abilities.
A debut goal against Manchester United in the league set the tone for a solid few months in the Midlands, where he eventually finished with five goals and three assists and the club finished 14th in the table.
His form led the club to splash out £17m in order to sign him on a permanent basis and, considering the impact he had during his temporary spell, it looked like a wonderful piece of business.
This was a player who had garnered praise from plenty of players and managers previously and Thiago perhaps summed him up perfectly, saying:
"He lacks nothing. I like to play with players at a top level and he's a phenomenon. He's a great guy, really hard working, with unbeatable technique and incredible finishing."
The 2022/23 season turned into a nightmare of epic proportions, however, as the midfield maestro played just 22 times in all competitions, managing to score only once in the process.
He missed eight games due to a hamstring injury and, after the resumption of the domestic season following the break due to the World Cup, the one-time Inter Milan man started just one league match until the end of the season.
A loan spell in Qatar was looked upon as a chance for the experienced enigma to get back to his best, and it appears as though it has worked so far.
Philippe Coutinho’s season in numbers
The Brazilian has already bettered his goal tally from last term in 14 fewer matches, scoring three times in just eight matches, and a consistent run of form in the starting XI will do his confidence the world of good.
The former Barcelona maestro ranks first across the Al-Duhail squad for shots per game in the AFC Champions League (3.7), along with ranking second for key passes per game (two) and fourth for successful dribbles per game (0.7), giving the impression that he is returning to his wonderful best on the biggest stage in Asian football.
0
2
0
1
0
0
0.7
2
0.3
0.7
Whether this will impress Emery remains to be seen, and he still has a few months left on his temporary spell in which anything can happen.
The statistics speak for themselves, however, and Coutinho has scored just many goals as Diaby during the 2023/24 season, and it may just give the Spaniard some food for thought, especially if he can maintain that type of form.
Villa look ready to challenge the top six of the Premier League and, in order for this to become a reality, they need everyone to step up and perform well on a consistent basis, as they have the mentality and talent to lead the club to their first major trophy since 1996.
Diaby has shown flashes of his extraordinary talent, but he needs to start adding more goals and assists to his game. If Coutinho can keep chipping in with some more goals, he may just find himself back in the fold upon his return next year, much to everyone's surprise, as it looked as though his career in the Midlands was all but over.