Now a team that do not settle for anything less than a winning mentality.
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00:00Charlie, let's look at Aston Villa and in terms of their season.
00:06Yes, we've mentioned it's been a pretty meteoric rise from an IM race side ever so slowly.
00:11Last season was fantastic.
00:12This season, they've pressed on even more.
00:15They've done so well reaching the latter stages of the FA Cup, the Champions League as well.
00:20In terms of the standout players at Villa, we've mentioned Morgan Rodgers, Jacob Ramsey.
00:26They've sort of built a fantastic bit of a standout season, a breakthrough campaign, if you will.
00:32And then there's been quality throughout the side.
00:34Who's stood out for you in terms of understanding this system?
00:38We obviously mentioned John McGinn as well.
00:40He's been so good in terms of his rise from where he was to the Champions League under an IM race.
00:45It's been pretty incredible.
00:47Who stands out as a player of the season, possibly, to get that pick for Aston Villa?
00:52Yeah, I think there are so many that you could put into the conversation for player of the season for Villa.
00:57And so many that have been crucial to Emery's system, the way he wants to operate.
01:01He's got quite a rigid structure.
01:03He wants his attacking midfielders and his wingers to kind of tuck in and form a diamond at times in midfield.
01:08He wants one striker who can get in beyond the lines, but someone to support Justin behind.
01:13We've seen Morgan Rodgers, the man at the number 10 role, when Marco Asensio was signed.
01:18Then Rodgers moved out to the right, performing just as well in that position.
01:22Versatility being so important for so many of these players.
01:25John McGinn, as you've mentioned, Jacob Ramsey, even Marcus Rashford to an extent,
01:29going out on the left wing and then out front when Emery wants him to.
01:32But the standout for me is someone who's not really moved positions too much,
01:35but has just stayed in that midfield double pivot throughout the entire season.
01:39It's Uri Tielemans.
01:40We've seen even when fixture congestion has got crazy, quite literally crazy at times,
01:46you've had games every three or four days.
01:49Tielemans hasn't missed a beat.
01:50He's hardly even substituted off towards the end of games.
01:54Emery knows how important he is to his system.
01:56Whether it's alongside Bubikar Kamara or alongside Amadou Onana, John McGinn, the likes,
02:02Tielemans is the one player that's always in there.
02:04You could argue as well Rodgers, he's hardly missed a beat either.
02:07But Tielemans, just the way that he picks up the ball, he knows exactly where his teammates are.
02:12Even when there's a high press, three or four players coming on to him,
02:15he knows exactly how to turn away from the danger.
02:18He can find a defence splitting pass.
02:19Three games in a row with an assist.
02:21It's just incredible, really, what he's done.
02:24And obviously being relegated with Leicester City, you think, is he going to hit that potential?
02:28He certainly has.
02:29It took him a bit of time to adjust under Emery, but this season he's really come into his own.
02:33And in my opinion, one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, full stop.
02:37Yeah, obviously he had that potential at Leicester.
02:40We saw how good he could be on his day.
02:42You mentioned there the slow start to his Villa career.
02:45What do you sort of think was the main factors in turning that, turning a corner
02:48and maybe Emery installing a bit of belief in him, a bit of confidence in him
02:53because he can be a world beater on his day.
02:56And he's proven it this season.
02:57His longevity and his fitness rate has been second to none.
03:00I think it's just the patience, really, because we saw he was a little bit raw at Leicester at times.
03:05Maybe his decision-making was a bit rash.
03:08Emery's just helped him to adapt and calm down a little bit, maybe not get so frustrated.
03:13I think as well, not being in a relegation battle helps.
03:15Having higher quality players in and around him helps as well.
03:19But he's just thrived whenever players have come at him, the way he turns on the ball.
03:23It was a bit like John McGinn, actually.
03:25He wasn't quite that player.
03:27He was amazing, of course, at Villa, a cult hero, one of the fan favourites, the club captain.
03:31But the way he moves on the ball has changed completely since Emery comes in.
03:35I think there's something there with the individual instructions that's really helped the midfielders
03:39because you see so many teams with a high press nowadays.
03:42Villa don't seem as susceptible to it as others.
03:45And I think it really is down to the individual instructions from Emery.
03:48Tielemann's really benefiting from it.
03:50His fitness, as you say, has certainly got better.
03:52I have no idea how he can sustain his levels playing so, so often, but he does.
03:57And it's been mega impressive.
04:00Yeah, just on the summer, I mean, we've seen Villa's rise go from dealing with, you know,
04:05a lot of championship clubs to suddenly they are dealing with the elite giants of Europe
04:10in terms of transfers, you know, Manchester United's, Chelsea's, PSG's,
04:14obviously in that incredible January window.
04:16So, they're sort of a bit of a crossroads, Villa, because you feel they are so close
04:20to touching the very, very top echelons of the Premier League.
04:23And obviously, they've gone far enough in the Champions League as well.
04:27They want to make sure they get over the line in the FA Cup as well.
04:30But in terms of summer, how do you feel they go about their business now?
04:33Because, you know, they're going to want to continue to fight near the very, very top
04:37of where they can be under an IM ray.
04:39And, you know, every summer and every transfer window can be really important now.
04:45Yeah, I think a lot of Villa fans will want to see the club investing in the summer
04:50to make sure they've got that depth.
04:51I think the depth right now is the best it's been in a very long time.
04:55That's been aided by the fact that there aren't any injuries really anymore as well.
04:59But I don't think they'll be able to spend as much as they'll want to in the summer.
05:02If anything, they're going to have to sell players,
05:04which is definitely not what supporters will want to hear.
05:06Just trying to stay in line with the profit and sustainability rules,
05:10with financial fair play, it doesn't feel fair at all.
05:14They say it's financial fair play, but it doesn't feel fair when the likes of
05:17Manchester City and Chelsea and Man United are able to spend a ridiculous amount of money.
05:21And then Villa, even though they're at their highest heights in such a long time,
05:25in decades, they're having to sell academy products just to meet those margins.
05:30I think, unfortunately, this summer we will see a key player leave,
05:33whether it be Oli Watkins, Jacob Ramsey, Morgan Rodgers.
05:36They need to make money somehow, and then they can reinvest some of it.
05:40But it is a shame. It really is.
05:41But I do think they'll be clever.
05:43We've seen how shrewd they can be with their business,
05:44potentially rash for coming in permanently.
05:47Asensio's available for a cut price fee because he's going into his last 12 months
05:50of his PSG contract.
05:52There is business to be done.
05:53It's just frustrating the manner in which it will have to be carried out.