At this moment in time, Aston Villa have some catching up to do if they want to secure a top five spot in the Premier League.
Securing Champions League football for another campaign would be huge at Villa Park, but Unai Emery’s men are just short of those coveted spots by three points currently, with a victory away at AFC Bournemouth this weekend crucial to try and bridge this gap.
The complexion of Villa’s summer business will also be dependent on whether they go on to gain a seat around Europe’s elite table again or not, with a number of departures perhaps on the menu if the Villans depressingly fall short.
One thing on the agenda could well be their attacking midfield spots.
Aston Villa's situation in attacking midfield
One area of the pitch that looks particularly worrying for Emery’s men is in the no.10 position, considering one of Villa’s brightest sparks here in Morgan Rogers is being linked with a move away to Chelsea.
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Moreover, reports seem to indicate that Marco Asensio won’t be kept around for the long term in England despite starring in the West Midlands ever since his loan arrival from Real Madrid, with financial concerns making the deal potentially tricky.
The Spaniard has certainly caught the eye, having scored eight goals in 18 outings for Villa.
Emery and Co have been targeting reinforcements here, unsurprisingly, seen in further reports that breakout Rosenborg sensation Sverre Nypan is reportedly in talks over completing a switch to Villa Park.
But, away from having to potentially splash any cash on the Norwegian’s services, Villa might be prepared to promote their very own homegrown version of Nypan shortly, with the exit of Asensio hurting even less if the teenager was a success in the senior side.
Aston Villa's homegrown version of Nypan
Of course, there are a lot of risks attached with Villa moving the 17-year-old in question straight up to the senior ranks, with Nypan now exposed to lots of action at first-team level in his native Norway.
Indeed, the dynamic 18-year-old has managed to amass a promising haul of 14 goals and 11 assists from 66 appearances for Rosenborg. On the contrary, homegrown attacking midfielder Bradley Burrowes has zero experience in this regard.
But, everyone has to start somewhere when spreading their wings, with Jack Grealish once an unknown figure at his boyhood employers, before exploding into life to win himself a £100m switch to Manchester City.
Obviously, Burrowes might not follow in these esteemed footsteps immediately, but his promising numbers as an attack-minded midfielder in the U18 and U21 structures for Villa means he is worth a punt by Emery in the first-team picture soon, especially if there is a void in the number ten spot to address.
U18s
22
9
3
U21s
13
3
5
UEFA U19s
8
2
0
Senior
0
0
0
The teenage starlet will hope the table above is soon full to the brim with senior appearances, considering he has tallied up a mightily impressive 22 goals and assists playing in a whole host of youth teams in the West Midlands.
Nypan can only boast three more goal contributions next to his name, albeit lining up for Rosenborg at a professional level. But, of course, there may be a worry that the 18-year-old might not be able to adjust to the bright lights of the Premier League.
Likewise, losing a figure such as Asensio won’t hurt as much in the long term if Burrowes is gifted chances and shines in the senior set-up, particularly if he has the opportunity to be mentored by Rogers if he doesn’t up and leave for pastures new at Chelsea.
There is an awful lot up in the air at Villa Park moving into the summer, but Emery and Co could save themselves a lot of hassle and money if they decided to give some of their very own talents an opportunity to shine, with Burrowes perhaps moulding into an even brighter star than Nypan down the line.
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