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This week, Aston Villa will welcome newly appointed manager Unai Emery to Villa Park. It will come as no surprise if the former Arsenal manager is eager to make some drastic changes to the struggling team.
After the team’s embarrassing 4-0 loss at St. James’ Park on Saturday, which has left them only one point clear of the relegation zone going into their final two league games before the World Cup, Emery joins.
The Villans will have to win some crucial games against Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion if they want to have any chance of improving their standing before the holiday break.
Emery will therefore want to figure out as soon as possible who he can get the best performance out of and who can provide the team with a hard-working attitude over not just the next two games but also the second half of the season.
Danny Ings, a striker for Villa, must be dropped right away by the new manager due to his underwhelming performances and inconsistent goal-scoring.
Since completing his £25 million transfer to Villa in the summer of 2021, the 30-year-old forward, who has been dubbed “unlucky” for his career-long injury issues, has scored just 11 goals and registered seven assists, with a goal contribution every 150 minutes.
Ings’ performance against Newcastle at the weekend was a perfect illustration of his inability to exert positive influence and take command of games beyond goal contributions.
During a lacklustre performance up top, the Villa striker only had 17 touches of the ball, completed just five of the nine passes he attempted, and lost possession every 2.8 touches.
Along with losing 50% of his duels, he failed to complete a single interception or tackle during his entire 90-minute performance.
Ollie Watkins scored 16 goals and provided five assists in the 2020–21 season before Ings joined, a total he hasn’t matched since. His inclusion in the team may also help to explain why Ollie Watkins’ goal threat has diminished since the former Liverpool player joined the team.
Watkins, who is most dangerous when used as a center-forward, has totaled 62 goals in that position but is frequently moved out wide or even further back to make room for Ings.
Due to this, the 26-year-old only managed to score 11 Premier League goals last season, which is still more than Ings has managed to score in his entire 18-month tenure at the club.
In light of this, it will be intriguing to see how Emery handles the obvious issues in the final third and whether he decides to make some season-altering, ruthless moves early on in an effort to keep Villa out of a relegation battle.
If the Spanish tactician decides to drop Ings and find a way to get more production out of Watkins, it could be an instant masterstroke.
