Aston Villa tipped to sign free-scoring winger who labelled Unai Emery a ‘tactical mastermind’

Aston Villa’s appointment of Unai Emery has already resulted in players being linked with the club ahead of the January transfer window. One of these is a free-scoring winger who excelled under the Spaniard at La Liga side Villarreal - and he is someone Villa have targeted in the past.

The Yellow Submarines won out in a battle for Arnaut Danjuma in August 2021, beating the Villans to his signature as he joined from AFC Bournemouth. Now, it is only natural for links to the Dutchman to be reignited, just 14 months after the original saga came to a close.

Last campaign, Danjuma enjoyed the best season of his career so far with 16 goals in 34 matches across all competitions. The 25-year-old played a key role for Villarreal, as Emery led the side to the Champions League semi finals for the first time since 2006.

Speaking after Villarreal recorded an impressive 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in the quarter finals, Danjuma heaped plenty of praise on his manager. “I can assure you Unai is a tactical mastermind of strategy,” Danjuma told BT Sport. “We’re confident in our manager and our manager is confident in us.”

Before jetting off for Spain, Danjuma impressed in the Championship for Bournemouth, netting 15 goals in 33 appearances. In the season before that, he failed to score in 14 Premier League games, however, he has come on leaps and bounds since then.

A lot of his progression could well have been down to Emery’s coaching, with Danjuma clearly well influenced by his management. “His vision, his plan, the way that he plays and the way he presents himself got me going at Villarreal,” Danjuma told Que Golazo last season.

“I can’t explain in words how good he is in terms of making us players better - in terms of making the whole team perform on the pitch. He’s been massive for me and I’ve been performing very well under him. There’s so much I’ve learned in such a short period of time.”

If Danjuma were to head to Villa Park, he would add competition for spots in attack, perhaps pushing the likes of Leon Bailey, Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins to step up their own performances. The January transfer window opens on January 1, 2023.