The winger for Aston Villa, Moussa Diaby, will be “a bit frustrated” with his lack of playing time in recent weeks. Journalist Dean Jones discusses the kind of mindset Unai Emery is hoping to find in his Villa Park team.
With his Villans team, Emery is having a great season as they want to finish in the top four of the Premier League and qualify for the 2024–25 Champions League.
Villa is among the favorites to win the third-tier continental title in Europe and has also guaranteed their spot in the Europa Conference League’s last 16. Early in the season, Diaby was one of Villa’s most impressive players; however, he has subsequently battled with form and has been benched in favor of replacements.
Diaby’s initial years with Aston Villa
Villa sought to bolster their team in order to reach new heights after securing a seventh-place Premier League result and guaranteeing qualifying for the Europa Conference League at the end of the 2022–2023 season. In the first few days of the 2023 summer transfer window, the Villans welcomed notable additions like Youri Tielemans, a former midfielder for Leicester City, and Pau Torres, a center-back for Villarreal. But the club’s biggest acquisition of the transfer window turned out to be Moussa Diaby, the winger from Bayer Leverkusen, who cost over £52 million and set a club record.
Diaby Moussa
In his first ten Premier League matches of the season, the 24-year-old had eight goal contributions, setting a scorching pace for his time at Villa Park. Neil Moxley, the top sports reporter for The Sunday People, told GIVEMESPORT in November 2023 that Diaby was proving to be a “nightmare” for opposing defenders. For the nine-cap France international, nevertheless, the past few months have been difficult; at the moment, colleague Leon Bailey is performing better.
During the course of his previous 15 Premier League games, Diaby managed just one goal and one assist, whereas Bailey managed eight goals and eight assists overall. In Villa’s last three Premier League games, the Paris-born star has been benched due to Emery’s harsh criticism of the wide player’s lackluster play. Villa’s Europa Conference League campaign is set to resume in March, so Diaby will need to hope he can get back on track quickly.
Premier League statistics for 2023–2024 comparing Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby
Dean Jones: At Villa, Diaby needs to regain Emery’s trust.
Although Jones speculates that Diaby would be irritated and dissatisfied, he asserts that Emery won’t want any member of his team to believe that their position is secure. The reporter has brought up Youri Tielemans’ prior 2023–2024 season comments in which he expressed dissatisfaction about a dearth of possibilities. Smith stated to GIVEMESPORT:
Diaby is probably a little irritated and angry right now. However, this is part of the current Aston Villa landscape. Nobody on this team should ever feel safe, in Emery’s opinion. You need to put in the effort to get back on that team.
When Tielemans wasn’t making the cut early in the 2023–24 season, there were rumors that he might leave the team a few months after signing. It briefly appeared as though he might toss his toys out the pram. He is now initiating games and making himself heard on that side. Throughout the Villa team, there are several instances of that. I believe Diaby will be well aware of the challenge he faces, particularly from Bailey.
News about Aston Villa, including Tyrone Mings’s increase
Even if Villa Park has suffered a dip in form recently, Aston Villa fans will ultimately be happy with the season their team is having this year. Multiple injuries to important members of Emery’s backline, notably Torres, Ezri Konsa, and Diego Carlos, haven’t helped.
Jones recently stated to GIVEMESPORT (19 February) that after viewing images of Tyrone Mings about to resume training, Villa supporters will feel relieved. On the first weekend of the Premier League season in August 2023, the Villans defeated Newcastle United 5-1, resulting in a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury to the center-back.
Mings had been anticipating taking part in Villa’s Europa Conference League season. He is, nevertheless, battling for a long-term role at Villa Park and may play a part in the team’s historic Champions League season the following year.
On February 24th, Villa will host Nottingham Forest in their Premier League return match. On March 2nd, they will travel to Luton Town. March 10th is a big match against Tottenham Hotspur, and on March 17th, Emery takes his team to the capital to play West Ham United.
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