Let’s focus on Ibrahim Mbaye Aston Villa for a second. Despite a tough loss against Barcelona, there was plenty to take out of Aston Villa’s game as Ibrahim Mbaye provided Unai Emery with another reason to feel he can play a role for the club.
The 18-year-old had an impressive performance off the bench as he played for the last 28 minutes of Villa’s 3-0 Champions League defeat at Camp Nou. Despite not being able to turn the game around, Mbaye showed great calmness and took his responsibilities on in tough circumstances.
Villa spent £47 million to bring in Mbaye from Paris Saint-Germain back in September, and with his high price tag comes expectation. But the Senegal international is a work-in-progress, getting used to playing in England.
However, he showed in his latest appearance that Emery has an exciting attacking threat on his hands, who could be more key as the season goes on.
Ibrahim Mbaye offers Aston Villa a positive from Barcelona defeat
But Villa were unable to contain Barcelona, who put in an impressive performance to win convincingly and break their perfect start in the Champions League.
However, Mbaye came on with confidence just after the hour mark. He had an impressive 7/8 pass success rate and created chances.
The stats are promising, showing his technical quality and comfort on the ball against top-level opposition.
However, twenty-eight minutes is a short period of time, and just because he put in a positive performance in a cameo role doesn’t mean he is ready to be a regular starter.
It does give Emery something to take from a disappointing result, though.
Emery must find the right role for his £47m signing
One of the questions around Mbaye has been where he’ll have the most influence within the Villa Park squad.
Sky Sports noted that while Mbaye was primarily a right-sided attacker when he arrived from PSG, his ability to play on the other flank means Emery has more options going forward.
This could be useful in what looks set to be a busy campaign and means Villa have more options to provide differing answers to specific problems.
Mbaye has certainly impressed in a limited amount of game time. His official Aston Villa profile shows that he has started 4 games in his first 10 appearances, meaning that Emery has slowly integrated him into the squad.
However, he will need to start performing consistently. The extra minutes will allow him to build chemistry with his teammates and make better decisions in the final third.
Barcelona setback could strengthen Mbaye’s case
Despite Villa’s loss, he has had a great start since joining the club.
With a wealth of honours under his belt, he has already played top-level football in the Champions League. That is some experience to have as an 18-year-old. The Premier League will present a new challenge.
While Emery won’t want to put too much pressure on a young player, the attacking players who have cost Villa a lot of money will need to come into the team.
The player still has some way to go to earn a spot in the starting XI but he still showed glimpses of what he can do at Camp Nou.
As the next game is an away game against Manchester United on Sunday (November 8), Emery should now have a good chance to look at his options. Whether he starts or comes off the bench it will be interesting to see how he develops.
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