da prosport bet： Having managed to secure Ollie Watkins in a big-money deal from Brentford, it would have been no real surprise for Aston Villa fans to be completely fixated on their latest striking sensation.
da pinup bet： And whilst the 24-year-old has delivered – he’s already bagged five goals in seven games this season – there’s one summer signing who has maybe gone slightly under the radar but who deserves just as much credit; Matty Cash.
Right-back was a position in which Dean Smith tried out different options last season, with the likes of Frederic Guilbert and Ezri Konsa given stints to see if they could hold down a regular starting spot.
Guilbert has now been frozen out, whilst Konsa has moved into the middle and it was clear that Villa desperately needed a new man for the job. Since arriving from Nottingham Forest in a reported £16m deal earlier in the summer, Cash has set about to establish himself as one of the first names on the team-sheet for Smith.
The 23-year-old has started every single Premier League game this season, and has been an important part of a back-line that has kept three clean sheets out of four in the top-flight.
Against Leicester on Sunday night, Cash showed why he’s already an undroppable member of the squad, and why he is an early contender for being Johan Lange’s best summer signing.
As per Sofascore, his 7.9 match rating was the joint-highest of any player on the pitch along with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, and when you look at some of the underlying numbers behind his performance, it’s easy to see why he got such a high rating.
He made a game-high six interceptions, and a team-high of four tackles, whilst he also won eight of the 12 total duels that he contested. But apart from being a defensive stand-out, Cash also offered a threat going the other way too.
His total of 68 touches were the highest of any Villa player, and it really goes to show how Smith’s team are already leaning on him as an important part of the build-up play. He also sent in two crosses, and completed two out of his three attempted long balls.
When you think of the fact that he cost just £16m, and there are other Premier League clubs spending huge sums of money on young English full-backs (Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Ben Chilwell, anyone?), he really is one of the shrewdest signings of the summer. In fact, in terms of value for money, Cash is arguably as good as, if not, better than Watkins in that respect thus far.
If he continues on his current trajectory, then the sky really is the limit for the 23-year-old.
And in other news, this Villa star outshone Ross Barkley in the win over Leicester.