Aston Villa: Dan Bardell over the moon with double injury boost at Villa Park
Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia are back in Aston Villa training and Dan Bardell believes they will be like new signings moving into next season.
Unai Emery has coached his side to an exceptional season which now sees the Villans firmly in the hunt for a Champions League spot.
This has been done without many key players throughout the campaign as injuries have taken their toll on the squad.
There have been no bigger concerns than ailments suffered by Mings and Buendia which have seen them both miss the whole season.
They are both very unlikely to play again until preseason but Bardell believes they will have a great impact upon their return.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “Mings is my favourite player, I think he’s so underrated, so important and you look at Villa at the moment conceding a lot from crosses and set pieces, Mings was always the player that wins those first contacts, that’s his game. Villa haven’t managed to replicate that.
“Villa haven’t got another player like Buendia, he’s probably the most creative and flamboyant attacking midfielder that Villa have in terms of being a traditional number 10. They don’t have anyone else like that at the club and he would have been a really key player for Villa.
“I don’t think he would have started every week but he was always good at coming on at 60 minutes and impacting the game. He’s a really clever footballer. I think Aston Villa would have gotten better results with Emi Buendia to call upon.
“It’s great that they’re back in training because of the severity of their injuries. It’s great that they’ve come back into training before the end of the season. If they can get a full pre-season behind them, it will be like having new players.“
How have Aston Villa missed Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia?
Despite not being the official club captain, Mings is the leader that everyone looks to as he barks orders out for the whole stadium to hear.
He is imperious and with his height, strength and ability on the ball, he was starting to come into his own under Emery’s tutelage. His gut-wrenching injury against Newcastle was sad for everyone to watch and he has certainly been missed.
This has been showcased even more in recent weeks with the Villans’ potency to concede from crosses against Brentford and Lille. With 5.73 clearances and 1.64 aerials won a game per 90, according to Fbref, he would have been well placed to reduce those chances.
Buendia is the man that Emery could look to for an additional flare, creativity and bite in the attacking midfield role. He was comfortable playing behind the striker or as a wideman and had begun to come into his own in claret and blue.
He ranks highly for expected assists on 0.28 per 90 while being surprisingly great in the air with 1.40 aerials won [Fbref].
They have both been greatly missed by Aston Villa for their own individual points of difference.
The Villans have had an unbelievable season, one of the best on record, but it may have been even better with the addition of stars like Buendia and Mings.
In other Aston Villa news, Ezri Konsa could be set to consider a £40million move to Manchester United ahead of the summer transfer window
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