00:00Charlie, looking at Aston Villa and obviously the January window coming to an end, a quite
00:08incredible window for Aston Villa. We just discussed how strange but incredible it actually
00:14was for them and if you'd have looked seven or eight years ago and said this, the likes
00:19of Rashford and Asensio were signing for Aston Villa, I don't think many would have really
00:24believed you with the position Villa were obviously in back then as well. How do those
00:29two fit into this side? Obviously they are stars in their own right, Asensio multiple
00:34Champions League winners played at the very, very top level. He's going to have really
00:38high expectations and then on the flip side of that, Marcus Rashford can be one of the
00:44best strikers in the world as he proved just a couple of seasons ago around this time of
00:48the year as well where he was scoring relentlessly for Manchester United. What sort of impact
00:54will they have on Emery's side? Will Emery stand for any antics from the likes of Rashford
01:00as well? What's the sort of situation regarding these two players?
01:03Yes, it's such an exciting time for Aston Villa supporters signing two players who've
01:08been world beaters at their best. Asensio, as you mentioned, he's won three Champions
01:12League titles. Having that kind of pedigree in the dressing room is a massive boost. I
01:17think Philippe Coutinho was the last signing of this kind of level along with Rashford
01:21as well. Both such huge names coming to Villa Park and I think Unai Emery will work well
01:26with Rashford. It's a bit of an unpopular opinion perhaps, but he just works so well
01:31with those players that are on the fringes at times and need a bit more confidence to
01:34come back into things. We've seen that with Jacob Ramsey. John Duran was a difficult character
01:39to work with. Even Watkins to an extent has had times where his finishing has not been
01:44at his best, but Emery's worked with him and he's improved him. Just little things of how
01:48he is on the half-turn, how he gets past defenders, I think we'll see a massive difference
01:52for Rashford. Asensio, he's not been playing as much football this year for PSG. So many
01:57options in that forward line that him being at Villa should give him that necessary game
02:02time. It's just so exciting where they'll fit in. I think Rashford potentially could
02:07make his debut against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup. Ollie Watkins is out with a minor
02:12injury so potentially gives the opportunity for him to play. Asensio will probably rotate
02:18in for the likes of Morgan Rodgers, Emi Buendia and Leon Bailey. It really depends what position
02:23he can play. Maybe out on the right or on the left, but in the formation Emery plays,
02:28the players on the wing kind of tuck in anyway. And that's probably Asensio's best position.
02:33So his creative ability should work very well there. And it's just great to have that kind
02:37of squad depth for Villa when they're trying to compete in an array of competitions. Still
02:42in the FA Cup, as I mentioned, the Premier League, they're gunning for that top four
02:46position once again, with the likes of Man City and Newcastle and Chelsea in that fight.
02:50And then in the Champions League itself, going to the last 16 of the competition, probably
02:54playing Borussia Dortmund or Atalanta. That extra firepower will go a very long way indeed.
Comments