Although Aston Villa have slipped up in recent matches, with zero wins coming their way so far in November, there have still been plenty of positives this season for the Villa Park masses to cling onto.
The Villans are only a point off third position in the early Premier League standings, with a winnable game up next against Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace gifting Unai Emery’s men a chance to bounce back from any recent poor results.
Emery will also know there’s more than enough talent in his camp to turn around this stumble in form, with the likes of Morgan Rogers and other stars at his disposal excelling away from some unwanted losses.
Top Villa performers this season
Rogers does feel like the obvious player to start with here, considering he has just won himself a new bumper deal at Villa Park until 2030, after also being gifted a senior England international call-up.
The constantly entertaining attacking midfielder has fired home three goals and picked up three assists across all competitions, wth his top performance levels not wavering in the Champions League whatsoever, with a ridiculous seven dribbles successfully registered against Bologna on Europe’s biggest stage in October.
There is also Rogers’ teammate up top in Ollie Watkins who has shown flashes of his brilliance in front of goal this season to date, despite failing to score for Emery’s men in their last five clashes.
He does still have a healthy return of five strikes next to his name from 11 Premier League contests, with Watkins also scoring this international break lining up alongside Rogers for the Three Lions versus Greece.
Not every top Villa star this season has been a guaranteed starter week in week out either, with Jhon Duran known now as a clinical striker in the West Midlands from off the substitutes bench.
Jhon Duran's value at Villa
Duran continues to look more and more like a bargain every game he dons a Villa strip, with the former Chicago Fire striker an Emery purchase for just £18m back in January 2023.
Whilst the Colombian would initially settle in well with five Premier League goals fired home during the 2023/24 season, this campaign has seen him become a man-possessed in front of goal, with many of Villa’s most memorable moments having the on-fire 20-year-old at the front and centre of them.
Of course, no article chronicling the insane rise of Duran at Villa would be complete without waxing lyrical about his clever strike versus Bayern Munich in the Champions League, which ended up winning the hosts the tight contest 1-0 over the Bavarian giants.
That inventive strike would come about after Duran had only been present on the Villa Park turf for 20 minutes, as he stepped up to replace Watkins in some style.
Stat – per 90 mins*
Duran
Games played
11
Games started
0
Minutes averaged*
25
Minutes played overall
278 mins
Goals scored
4
Expected goals
2.37
Scoring frequency
70 mins
He has also been an electric option late on in games in the top-flight, with four goals coming the South American’s way despite the fact he hasn’t started a single contest in the division as only 278 minutes of action have been afforded to him.
The major impact the Villa number nine has managed to have on games has resulted in the likes of Arsenal reportedly being interested in his services, with a hefty €90m (£75m) price tag now above his head, according to reports from his native Colombia.
That is a crazy increase of 316%, when taking into account his original £18m fee, with that low fee now looking to be a golden bargain for Emery and Co.
Villa won’t want to part ways with the 20-year-old anytime soon, despite ridiculous amounts of money now being discussed, as Emery no doubt views his “weapon” – as he was once referred to by football talent scout Jacek Kulig – as integral to Villa ending this current season on a high.
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