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George Hemmings and Alysson show Aston Villa's future is already taking shape
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- George Hemmings and Alysson show Aston Villa's future is already taking shape
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George Hemmings and Alysson show Aston Villa 's future is already taking shape
George Hemmings didn't quite get the decisive moment his performance against Arsenal deserved, but watching him during an excellent first half reminded me of the early stages of Jacob Ramsey 's breakthrough at Aston Villa , when you could see all the ingredients of a very good Premier League footballer even though everything hadn't completely come together yet.
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When Ramsey initially established himself in the Villa team there were the powerful runs, the ability to carry the ball and the athleticism which made him stand out, but it took time for him to add the moments which really gave him the confidence that he belonged at that level. Eventually one of those runs ended with a goal or an assist, his confidence grew and the player we'd seen glimpses of started influencing matches much more consistently, and I wonder whether Hemmings is approaching a similar stage of his development now.
I thought he was excellent during the first half against Arsenal because the endeavour was always there, he was prepared to run at people and he offered Villa an important outlet down that left-hand side against an opposition defence which doesn't give you many opportunities to attack space. Understandably, he began to run out of steam after around an hour, but that's another part of the adaptation for a young player who is suddenly being asked to perform at Premier League intensity against the best team in the country.
It's also important to remember that Hemmings is learning the position because this isn't where he has spent his entire development playing, so he's having to understand all of the smaller details Emery demands from somebody operating as that left-sided number ten. There will be moments where he needs to stay wide and stretch the pitch, while at other times he has to recognise when to move into the pocket between the opposition full-back and centre-half, with those decisions eventually becoming instinctive through matches, training and the coaching he receives.
I think he's waiting for one of those big moments where he makes one of the lung-busting runs we've already seen, gets away from his opponent and either puts the ball across the penalty area for somebody to score or finishes the move himself. Once that happens and he has the confirmation that he can directly influence a Premier League game, it wouldn't surprise me if another level of confidence came with it.
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Hemmings isn't going to start every week because Villa have signed players who will eventually occupy some of those attacking positions and the team will inevitably look different once everybody is available, but he's done enough to demonstrate that he deserves to remain around the first-team picture. He's also shown that there can still be a pathway for young players within a squad which has undergone a significant amount of change over the summer.
Alysson is at a different point in his development, but he's another young player who keeps making me want to see more because every time he gets onto the pitch there is something unpredictable about what he's going to do. I don't completely know what type of player he's ultimately going to become and I don't think Villa will necessarily know his ceiling yet either, but he's direct, fearless in possession and immediately wants to attack his full-back rather than taking the safe option.
We saw it against PSG and there was another glimpse against Arsenal because he came into the game wanting to make something happen, while there is also a little bit of bite and physicality about him which I really like. After injuries disrupted so much of last season, he's obviously nowhere near the finished article and it might take a couple of years before we really understand the level he can reach, but there are enough interesting raw attributes there for Villa's coaches to work with.
There was something similar with Morgan Rogers when he initially arrived because you could identify the athleticism, ball carrying and technical qualities without necessarily knowing exactly how Emery was going to put everything together. I'm not suggesting Alysson is going to follow the same trajectory because what Rogers went on to achieve at Villa was exceptional, but I like the idea of signing talented young footballers with qualities that can be developed rather than expecting every player to arrive as the finished product.
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Villa's squad has changed dramatically and understandably most of the attention will be placed on the expensive new arrivals who are expected to immediately improve Emery's starting XI, but Hemmings and Alysson are showing there are also younger players around the edges of this team who can develop alongside them. Hemmings looks much closer to being capable of contributing regularly right now, whereas Alysson probably requires considerably more patience, but I've seen enough from both to believe there's something worth developing.
