Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Aston Villa have important decisions to make for on-loan duo Samuel Iling Junior and Enzo Barrenechea this January.
Luiz was sold for £42.35 million while Iling-Junior and Barrenechea moved in the other direction for a combined £18.6 million. Unai Emery assessed both players for several weeks after their arrival and decided they weren’t quite ready to have an impact for Villa, so loans away were arranged.
Neither temporary move has progressed particularly well and the Villans are bound to be considering recalling both players in January. Iling-Junior, at Italian Serie A and Champions League club Bologna, has accumulated just 407 minutes across all competitions. Barrenechea, meanwhile, has struggled to lock down a starting spot at La Liga side Valencia.
Unai Emery must decide whether the current loans for Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea are the best ones.Unai Emery must decide whether the current loans for Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea are the best ones.
Unai Emery must decide whether the current loans for Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea are the best ones. | Getty Images
Questions were certainly asked when Villa agreed to taking on two players well down the pecking order at Juve but the genuine belief from Emery and Monchi, Villa’s President of Football Operations, remains that there’s great potential to unlock. It was hoped the loans would help discover such talent but alternative solutions may have to be seeked.
Of the two, Iling-Junior is certainly the most likely to be recalled by Villa as the winger, 21, has hardly featured at all under head coach Vincenzo Italiano. Barrenechea has at least impressed occasionally and impressed with an assist in the recent 1-1 draw with Espanyol, but Valencia’s unexpected relegation battle perhaps isn’t he best environment.
Continue Reading