Aston Villa opinion: Trezeguet could have a big impact at Villa Park
According to Sky Sports, Aston Villa have confirmed the signing of Egyptian international winger Mahmoud Hassan, better known as Trezeguet, from Turkish top-flight club Kasimpasa for an initial fee of £8.5million, which could increase in the future with performance-related add-ons.
The 24-year-old attacker becomes Villa’s ninth signing of the summer following the acquisition of Jota, Anwar El Ghazi, Tyrone Mings, Kortney Hause, Ezri Konsa, Bjorn Engels, Wesley Moraes and Matt Targett.
Trezeguet was on Villa’s radar since the start of the summer transfer window and the Lions finally managed to beat off competition from other clubs in their pursuit of the talented winger.
The 24-year-old has already been unveiled and the fans at Villa Park have every reason to expect big things from their latest signing when the next season gets underway in August.
However, with Villa currently on an outrageous spending spree, he might not be the last to come through the door before the deadline.
Villa released quite a lot of players from their squad in the previous season, including the likes of Albert Adomah, Mile Jedinak, Tommy Elphick, Glen Whelan and Alan Hutton, upon promotion to the Premier League. Other loanees like Tammy Abraham and Axel Tuanzebe have returned to their parent clubs.
As evident from Villa’s policy of mass recruitment and extravagant spending in the transfer market this summer, they have made an attempt to compensate for those departures by opting for an overall squad upgrade in a bid to enhance their chances of surviving in the Premier League.
Trezeguet, who is the latest to join the crew at Villa Park this summer, is essentially a left-winger by trade. A modern-day right-footed versatile attacking midfielder, the 24-year-old Egyptian international is at his best when deployed in an inverted role down the left, although he is more than capable of playing out wide on the right and through the centre behind the striker.
Having already strengthened their backline this summer with the acquisition of players like Engels, Konsa, Mings, Targett and Hause, Villa needed to invest in their attacking options, particularly in the wide areas.
And Trezeguet has arrived at the Villa Park as the man to answer the club’s prayers for another wide player to compete with the Anwar El Ghazi, Jonathan Kodjia, Jota and youngster Andre Green for a place in the eleven.
Besides the obvious quality that the Egyptian has brought to Villa’s ranks, the 24-year-old’s arrival has also ensured that Dean Smith now has four potential contenders vying for two wide spots in the eleven each week.
Considering the intense level of competition and the hectic schedule of the Premier League, including the domestic cup games, adequate depth in each area of the squad is an absolute necessity for all the teams.
Keeping that in mind, it is easy to see that the arrival of Trezeguet has certainly handed a massive boost to Villa’s squad depth and team dynamics.
Shifting our attention to the Egyptian’s style of play, the 24-year-old would probably play on the left-hand side of the front trio in Smith’s preferred 4-3-3 formation, which would then allow him to use his technical abilities, pace, acceleration and dribbling skills to cut inside from the flanks and link up with Wesley Moraes, who is likely to spearhead Villa’s attack next term.
Moraes, with his tall and powerful frame, aerial ability and smart hold-up play, could be the perfect man to complement Trezeguet, who primarily relies on his pace, movement, quick feet and clinical finishing.
Hence, the fans can look forward to some slick link-up play with intelligent off-the-ball movement next term, and with Jota likely to start on the right of the front three due to his left-footed nature, Villa seem to have two technically-gifted versatile wide players playing off the shoulder of a target man like Wesley.
Now, Trezeguet is not just a good assist-provider but he is also very much capable of putting his chances away with both feet.
As mentioned earlier, the Egyptian is very good with his movement and has the generous nous to get into the right areas in and around the penalty area to pull the trigger. Not to forget his ability from set-pieces, which is likely to add that little bit of X-Factor to Villa’s attack next season.
Just to remind the fans, Trezeguet racked up 25 goals and 18 assists in 71 appearances for Kasimpasa in Turkey prior to his move to Villa Park.
While it is true that the Premier League is head and shoulders above the Turkish top-flight in all aspects, one would expect the 24-year-old to eventually make the step up to English football, given his talent and potential.
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Conclusion
All in all, Trezeguet is likely to play a key role for Villa up front in the Premier League next season and a lot of their success or failure will depend on how the 24-year-old responds to the challenge of adapting his game to suit the demands of playing in England.