‘It’s a process’ - Unai Emery sends valuable hint to ‘adapting’ £50m Aston Villa signing

Signed from Everton for £50 million last month, Onana was greeted in the West Midlands with immediate and lofty expectations. As his price tag was so high, the pressure was always going to mount - especially as the Belgian already has Premier League experience.

Onana made his competitive debut for Villa on Saturday, scoring the opening goal in the 2-1 win away at West Ham United. It was an excellent start to the new Premier League season as the Villans claimed all three points at London Stadium.

The involvement from Onana wasn’t just limited to his goal - a prolific header from a corner - as the Belgium international broke up the play effectively in a midfield double pivot. But Emery, as a relentless perfectionist, demands even more from his new signing.

“Onana still has work to do in the adaptation we want to get from him. But of course after the pre-season, today he played the best match after the process we had with him,” Emery told Birmingham World after Saturday’s win.

“There’s still a lot of work to do with the adaptation in a tactical way, offensively and defensively. He has a big potential but we need a process with him to exploit his potential. 

“We want to identify quickly how we want to play with him, how we want to dominate in the position he’s playing, with the ball and without the ball. He’s really very mature to get as soon as possible everything tactically,” Emery said.

Onana is expected to play a key role throughout the entire season for Villa, and so his adaptation going smoothly is vital. With Champions League football set to make an already congested schedule even busier, Emery will command consistency from Villa’s new number 24.

If all goes to plan, Onana won’t be at threat of being replaced by Boubacar Kamara upon the Frenchman’s return from a long-term knee injury. Due back in training next month, Kamara is likely to fit into the XI alongside Onana — not instead of.

Rotation can of course be expected further down the line as Emery sets out to protect his players’ sharpness, but the strongest lineup could theoretically incorporate both midfield generals.