Aston Villa kick off their 2024/25 campaign on Saturday afternoon, as they travel to the London Stadium and face West Ham United.
It will be a tough first game of the season against a Hammers side, now led by Julen Lopetegui, who have strengthened well during the summer transfer window.
However, Unai Emery’s side have also added great depth to their squad, having signed eight players so far over the summer. They are hoping to build on last term, an impressive campaign which saw them finish fourth in the Premier League and qualify for the Champions League after an absence that spanned several decades.
Their marquee signing over the past few months has been Belgium international midfielder Amadou Onana.
The 22-year-old joined the Villans for £50m from Everton, an impressive piece of business from both clubs. The Midlands side brought in a great player to strengthen in midfield, and the Toffees made a good profit on one of their best players.
With Villa looking to maintain their impressive levels and push for top four again, it makes sense that they have made so many moves in the transfer window. However, they might not be done there just yet, and have recently been linked with another player who was Premier League bound until just days ago.
Villa target La Liga striker
The player in question here is Atletico Madrid and Spain youth international striker Samu Omorodion. The 20-year-old attacker, who recently won the gold medal at the Olympics with Spain, came very close to a move to Chelsea before a deal fell through.
However, he still seems destined to leave the Wanda Metropolitano this summer, and according to journalist Ben Jacobs, has been offered to several clubs as the transfer window comes to a close, with just over two weeks remaining.
Indeed, one of those clubs is Villa, who have been offered the services of Omorodion along with fellow Premier League side Bournemouth, and invincible German champions Bayer Leverkusen. Perhaps it is just a coincidence, but should the youngster join any of these clubs, he will play under the tutelage of a Spanish manager.
Jacobs reports that, at this stage, there has been no offer from Villa Park, meaning Emery could lose out on the signing to one of his countrymen, Andoni Iraola and Xabi Alonso. However, should Villa pursue a move, he could cost around £34.5m, the price Chelsea had agreed with Atleti, as per Sky Sports.
Why Omorodion would be a good signing
Last season was a successful campaign for the 20-year-old striker, who was on loan at Deportive Alaves from Atleti. In his first La Liga season, Omorodion played 35 times, scoring nine goals and grabbing one assist. He also got himself on the scoresheet at the Olympics, scoring in a 2-1 defeat to Egypt.
The Atleti striker is a “beast”, as football analyst Antonio Mango described him. He has a tall frame, standing at 6 foot 3, which he uses to his advantage well. The 20-year-old is physical, holds the ball up superbly well, and is deadly in the box.
Omorodion has a classic striker instinct in the penalty area, able to score from tight angles and likes to shoot across the goalkeeper’s body. It is unsurprising that, given his height, the youngster is also deadly in the air, making him a very dangerous player when crosses come into the box.
That is certainly shown by the impressive goal in the clip below, where he gets on the end of a cross slightly behind him and uses sheer power from a standing start thanks to a powerful base, which was used to help guide the ball home.
Indeed, this is reflected in his FBref stats from the 2023/24 campaign. For example, last term, he won 2.75 of his aerial duels per 90 minutes, ranking him in the top 30% of strikers in La Liga. He takes plenty of shots each game, too, showing that he gets into good positions. He averaged 3.02 shots, which ranked him in the top 18% of La Liga centre-forwards.
Should Villa get a deal over the line for the Olympic gold medalist, he could form a superb partnership with Ollie Watkins, one of the Premier League’s outstanding players from the 2023/24 campaign.
The England international, who scored the winner for his nation in the Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands, scored 32 goals last term, one of only three players to register 30 or more top-flight goal involvements, as per FBref, along with Cole Palmer who got 33, and Erling Haaland who matched Watkins’ 32.
Harry Kane
32
44
Kylian Mbappe
29
34
Cole Palmer
33
33
Artem Dovbyk
36
32
Erling Haaland
31
32
Ollie Watkins
37
32
Serhou Guirassy
28
31
Lois Openda
34
31
The 28-year-old centre-forward scored 19 goals and registered 13 assists. The latter tally helped him to win the Premier League’s playmaker award, fending off the likes of Kevin De Bruyne to claim the illustrious prize.
He could form a deadly partnership with Villa’s potential new Spanish striker, therefore. Given Omorodion’s hold-up ability, and the England international’s tendency to make runs in behind, that could be profitable for the Villans.
This was pointed out by Sky Sports analyst Adam Bate, who explained how, last season, Watkins was “testing the offside trap and stretching the opposition defence” much more often.
The Atleti striker could hold the ball up as the Villa number 11 constantly makes runs in behind, eventually being found by a searching pass from the Spaniard or a teammate to whom he has laid the ball off.
The Spain U21 international could also profit off Watkins’ incredible assist tally last term. Given his ability to make runs in the penalty box and pick up unpredictable positions, he may be able to get on the end of a few passes from the England international and find the back of the net.
For a fee in the region of £34.5m, signing Omorodion could be superb business from the Villans this summer. Emery has been hunting for a new centre-forward to compliment Watkins, but he may have to look no further should he decide to recruit the Olympic gold medalist this summer.
Konsa 2.0: Aston Villa offered "revelation" who can replace Carlos
Unai Emery could snap up an experienced defender for nothing…
ByRoss KilvingtonAug 10, 2024