The Aston Villa star going under the radar who can become important player for Unai Emery

Aston Villa have got off to a terrible start to the 2025/26 season, but there is one silver lining both supporters and Unai Emery can take if they really dig deep. It may feel like scraping the barrel considering just how bad the Villans have been, but one fringe player has impressed enough to provide at least some hope.

Now, he’s not going to be a game changer. Nor is he going to suddenly fix all of Villa’s problems. But Lamare Bogarde has proven in the past couple of games that he’s progressed to the level where he can genuinely compete for a place in this team – and he can be a really handy utility option for Emery going forward.

Thrusted to the forefront of Emery’s plans in the absence of the injured Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley, Bogarde started in defensive midfield in Villa’s bore 0-0 draw away at Everton on Saturday. The Dutchman was then given the nod again as Villa drew 1-1 against Brentford before losing on penalties to exit the Carabao Cup.

Bogarde improving for Villa

Now, neither performance was strong from Villa as they continued their worrying lack of creativity and once again looked shaky defensively. But Bogarde was arguably one of the best of a bad bunch in both matches, perhaps only bettered by Emiliano Martinez and Tyrone Mings at the Hill Dickinson Stadium and then by Ezri Konsa and Harvey Elliott at Brentford.

Against Everton, Bogarde took a little while to get settled but really improved as the game went on. In the end, Bogarde maintained a 97% passing success rate, while he completed all three of his tackles and made three clearances. It was a similar showing at the Gtech Community Stadium as Bogarde completed 90% of his passes and made four defensive contributions.

Neither showing was mind-blowing from Bogarde. He didn’t score a wonder goal. He didn’t make any goal-saving interventions. But he was solid. And most importantly, he showed he has come on leaps and bounds from his tremulous performances of the past.

There have been doubts over whether Bogarde is good enough to play his part in this Villa team, but the signs from early this season are promising. Kamara and Youri Tielemans will undoubtedly be the preferred duo in the midfield double pivot when they’re fit, and Onana will probably be next in the pecking order, but there’s a genuine argument for Bogarde to be ahead of Barkley.

Versatility helps Bogarde’s case

Midfield has been Villa’s problem area on the team news front so far this campaign, but Bogarde can also help out if injuries begin to mount up in defence. The 21-year-old, signed from Feyenoord in 2020, is accomplished at both centre-back and right-back, so he can provide handy cover in those positions too.

Emery and all involved with Villa will be hoping it doesn’t come to that, as it’s obviously far better to have the first-choice players available, but it’s nice knowing that Bogarde is there and can be counted on if required.

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