John Townley looks at the Aston Villa youngsters who have impressed over in Nashville
Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba controls the ball against the St. Louis City
Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba controls the ball against St. Louis City
Aston Villa’s pre-season tour of the USA has come to an end and the club now face Roma on Wednesday night before friendlies against Marseille and Villarreal.
Unai Emery will continue to use the games to get minutes on board for the whole Villa squad, including some of the younger players looking to make the breakthrough.
Three of the players who have been busy trying to impress the boss, are Travis Patterson, Triston Rowe and Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba.
Jimoh-Aloba is one player, a versatile creative midfielder who has really stepped up in Nashville.
Our Man At Aston Villa, John Townley was watching carefully over the US and said of Jimoh-Aloba: “I've been really impressed by his versatility, which is a key element of a player's profile, which Emery loves.
“He always talks about how Morgan Rogers and John McGinn can be played in any position, and the importance of that.
“You'd like to think, could have a future in Villa's first-team because of that ability he has to play as a striker, to play as a number 10 or to play off the left, it's something that we saw in the FA Youth Cup.
“He came in off the left to score against Man City, which essentially sealed Villa's win.
“He’s a player who Villa took from West Brom and has a good future in the game because he played it for England youth levels.
“His physical profile as well was really strong for his age. Obviously he needs to bulk up a little bit but definitely there are signs there that technically he is very good and has all the sort of qualities that Emery would want in a player. Obviously he's still very young though.”
Aston Villa's Triston Rowe
Aston Villa's Triston Rowe(Image: PA)
Another player looking sharp Stateside is right-back Triston Rowe, a player who shares similarities to Kaine Kesler-Hayden.
He’s a player who John feels should definitely follow the loan route that his predecessor took.
He explains: “Rowe is very similar to Jimoh-Aloba in terms of his level at his age. He's very quick as a right back, and very similar to Kesler-Hayden who came through at Villa and won the FA Youth Cup.
“Rowe did exactly the same thing and now looks set to go down that loan route that Kesler-Hayden went down with lots of Championship loans, he’s now at Coventry City, of course, and will inevitably be a Premier League player at some point.
“It would be great to see Rowe make the first-team at Villa rather than go down the endless loan route, but he is still so raw that again a loan will likely be needed and he already has interest from the Championship.
“He’s a player I have watched closely on this tour, you can see the right ingredients are there, but at the same time it's hard to judge these players and be too critical because in some stages of the tour he didn't put a foot wrong.
“For example in the match against Frankfurt he was very solid in the last 20 minutes of the game and was also playing well against Nashville. He headed the ball pretty much off the line at one point towards the end of the second half, but then also made a bit of an error, a slight lapse in judgment, which allowed one of their players to get in behind and score.
“So, lessons to be learned for him, but that's the point of the tour.”
Travis Patterson of Aston Villa with the ball
Travis Patterson of Aston Villa with the ball
Completing the trio of players to have caught our claret and blue expert’s eye, is Travis Patterson.
He’s another player who ticks that Emery desired trait of versatility. A left-sided player who can operate at left back or left wing.
John feels he will have had valuable experience on this tour and will be one player who can again go out on loan and offer something to a club and enhance his development at the same time.
John explains: “Playing every game on loan isn’t really the main thrust of a loan deal these days.
“He was loaned out to M.K. Dons last season, he didn't play too much, but then at the same time, you expect young players to go out and play every game.
“And it's not really the purpose of loans these days. It's more about getting experience and playing in men's football.
“The experience for all three of them being in and around the first team picture and playing with senior pros, that's great, but also just being on the tour and having exposure to players like Tyrone Ming, John McGinn, Ollie Watkins.
“Older, more experienced players, that will set them up really well and it gives them a taste of what they can be doing in their professional careers moving forward.
“I would say it's a big thing for the young players to get out of that kind of academy bubble and step into the first team picture, something that Emery has tried to promote.
“Doing it in a summer camp has been really positive and the matches will have helped them with any sort of weaknesses in their game, if they are exposed in these friendlies.
“That's never a reason for me to question whether they will or won’t make it.
“You want to see certain things in pre-season knowing that they can have room to improve. Then next summer or even the summer after that, how have they improved?
“What are they like now compared to their first pre-season with the club?
“Like for example Amari Kellyman did previously and then left to join Chelsea in a deal worth around £19m.
“He was a standout player for Villa in the summer series event, hit the post against Newcastle and was making a good impression.
“That's kind of what you're seeing with these players, it's about having that exposure.”
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