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By Matt Smith
After a couple of years at Everton, Onana was brought in to replace Douglas Luiz in the middle of the park for the Villans.
At the age of 23, Onana has already played for a host of clubs as he continues to climb the ladder of European football. The former-Lille man has never shied away from seeking a new challenge, but Villa fans will be hoping he’s found a place to settle after an impressive start to the season.
At Everton, we were never likely to see the best of Onana due to Sean Dyche’s style of play. Someone who likes to get on the ball and control games from deep, he wasn’t tailor-made for Everton’s system at the time.
Villa saw enough and forked out a hefty amount of money to secure his signature, and it’s already beginning to pay off. Onana wasn’t brought in to score goals, but he’s already found the back of the net three times in six competitive appearances. Standing tall at 195cm (Villa assistant coach) Austin McPhee’s set-piece routines have gone to the next level thanks to the addition of Onana.
The Belgian international is the perfect profile of midfield in the modern era. The new age of football focuses heavily on pace and power coupled with technical ability, and Onana has that all in abundance. Not only is he silky smooth on the ball and secure in possession, he’s a duel-winning machine.
In Unai Emery’s system, we’re starting to see the best of Onana, just like we do with Belgium. Particularly with Boubacar Kamara out injured, Onana is tasked with being one of the pivots in the build-up alongside Youri Tielemans, looking to break lines with his paces into the likes of Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers in the middle, or switching it wide to the full-backs and wingers with his superb range of passing.
Onana offers a layer of protection in front of the back four that they don’t have when he’s not in the side at the moment. Youri Tielemans regularly partners him in the middle of the park, but his Belgian compatriot likes to play slightly higher, and the added protection of Onana gives him licence to do so.
The 23-year-old is already averaging 7.79 duels won, 1.61 interceptions, and 2.42 aerial duels won per 90 in the Premier League. To be such a dominant force defensively at his age is incredibly impressive.
Ramsey and John McGinn are often deployed in the wide areas, on paper, but the Villa duo are naturally central players, so will often tuck inside to create a box midfield. Due to Villa having plenty of bodies to protect themselves in transition, this is allowing Onana and Tielemans to both get involved in the player higher up the pitch. They certainly benefited against Young Boys in the Champions League last week.
Onana has already scored as many goals for Villa as he did for Lille and Hamburg, while he’s one away from matching his tally for Everton. The young midfielder was often criticised during his time at Goodison Park, with plenty arguing that he needed a higher-level environment to flourish, and that’s starting to be proved right.
It’s a small sample size, but Onana is starting to become a threat in the final third, something we barely saw during his time at Everton. Dyche’s midfielders were rarely given licence to go forward during Onana’s time at the club, but Emery’s style means we are starting to see Onana make an impact at both ends of the pitch.
Against Everton in the Premier League, the midfielder produced a disappointing display, fumbling possession in the middle of the park to allow Dwight McNeil to score before being hooked at half-time. Just a few days later, he bounced back with an 8.1 FotMob rating against Young Boys and a long-range finish, showing his mentality to put poor performances behind him.
Villa are currently sitting pretty in third place in the Premier League, and Onana has quickly become undroppable in the middle of the park for Emery. The Belgian powerhouse is making an impact domestically and in Europe, and it’s easy to see why the Midlands club were keen to spend a large amount of cash to prise him away from Goodison Park.
Still being just 23 years old, Onana has plenty of room to grow and is still far from reaching his full potential. In a few year’s time, there’s a good chance we’re looking back at the price Villa paid and considering it a bargain in the modern era.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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