Newcastle United are preparing to take on Aston Villa in the FA Cup this evening.
Unai Emery has stayed coy on whether he will unleash new signing Alysson against Newcastle United.
Aston Villa stumped up around £10million to buy the teenage sensation last month. Alysson is a Brazil youth international and made his Premier League debut from the bench in the 1-0 win over Brighton earlier this week.
Villa fans are clamouring for the highly rated 19-year-old to be given a chance to shine at his new club. For Newcastle, the youngster presents an unknown quantity should they come up against him in the FA Cup this afternoon.
Unai Emery on Aston Villa new signing
Speaking ahead of the game, Villa boss Emery outlined Alysson’s qualities while remaining ambiguous on whether he will feature today. The Spaniard said: “He’s a winger. (He is a) left-footed winger playing normally on the right side, and (he) can play in the left side, but normally he’s playing on the right side.
“He has qualities or skills like, more or less, Leon Bailey - left foot playing in the right side, and he has a huge potential. Of course, his adaptation is being progressively better, but he needed time, and he is still needing time to adapt of us, and to get his best performances. But each match or each training session is very important for him.”
‘A tough draw’ - Eddie Howe on Aston Villa challenge
Eddie Howe has vowed to do all he can to progress - dismissing suggestions an FA Cup exit would be beneficial given the fixture congestion. He told reporters: "It has helped the feeling and mood at the training ground. It is amazing that it can change the perspective of everyone.
“I get asked a lot about the FA Cup. Our attitude is to win. It's a competition we want to win and go as far as we can. We would love to have a cup run, our attitude won't change, we want to try and win the next game and that is Aston Villa. It is a tough draw, a competition we want to do well in and we want to go as far as we can."
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