A look at Villa’s start
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00:00On to Aston Villa, obviously, you know, we mentioned a number of times last season, they didn't quite have the depth to go all the way.
00:07For example, in the Europe Conference League, they fell out of that, which they probably should have gone on to win, being one of the favourites to do so.
00:17Did you expect this start to the season? I mean, it's been quite magnificent from them.
00:21It seems that they've got that bit of depth now. They've lost a few key players in the summer, but it's also, you know, you're barely noticing that they're gone.
00:27I mean, Onana's come in and he's been fantastic. You've got John Doran, who's made an awesome impact off the bench.
00:33It seems like he's been brewing over the last season or so.
00:37How impressed with Villa, with the start, have you been and were you actually expecting this from them?
00:42I wasn't expecting quite this strong of a start, I won't lie.
00:45But with the fixtures, they've not been horrendous.
00:47Obviously, the Arsenal one at home, which was tough and they did lose that one.
00:51But there have been teams with a lot worse runs, especially near the top of the table.
00:56But they have impressed. You've still got to beat those who are in front of you.
00:59They've been doing it across all competitions, winning their Champions League opener against Young Boys.
01:04Yep, a weaker opposition, but so much pressure and anticipation on that game.
01:08On an artificial pitch as well, anything could have happened.
01:10It was a real banana skin opportunity, but they did win that game.
01:14And the Carabao Cup as well, they've progressed.
01:16It was a tough game, actually, away at Wickham Wanderers, but it was a very rotated Villa team.
01:21It was going to be tough against a team that probably wanted it a little bit more at Adams Park.
01:25They've progressed out of that one.
01:26And even when they're not playing their best, they're picking up these wins against Wolves in that first half.
01:31Hardly had a foothold in the game whatsoever.
01:34But as Wolves kind of capitulated themselves and Villa started to get a bit better in possession
01:38and made some impactful substitutions, they impressed and they got the win there.
01:43The same can be said against Everton the week beforehand,
01:47going down against one of the worst teams in the league and coming back and scoring enough goals to do that.
01:52If they can outscore their opposition, they're always going to win the games.
01:55And John Duran has been a sensation off the bench.
01:58Five goals in five Premier League games, all off the bench.
02:02Wow, what a player he's been.
02:03And some of the goals he's scored have been tremendous as well.
02:07Yeah, you mentioned him there.
02:08He has been unbelievable.
02:09But how do you sort of get him in the team alongside Ollie Watkins?
02:13I mean, it's probably a nice headache to have.
02:16It's also nice to have the Champions League and the Cups to sort of rotate them as well in that moment.
02:23But a man so in form, it sort of seems harsh that he's not starting alongside Watkins.
02:28It's a good problem to have, isn't it?
02:30Having two potentially world-class strikers.
02:33Obviously, he's not there just yet.
02:34He's still very raw.
02:35Needs to build some maturity.
02:37His attitude has shifted a little bit this season.
02:40He's not been such a hothead that we saw last year.
02:42I think he's always going to be a bit of a character.
02:44It's just who he is.
02:46But he started to throw that stuff away from the pitch a bit more and not quite as much on it.
02:51He just kind of takes it out onto the field, potentially in a better way, using the shot power.
02:56He's got so much of it.
02:58One goal outside the box.
02:59Oh, my word, what a strike that was.
03:01And he's not the only one.
03:02His technique just makes it look so, so easy.
03:05And the fact he's only 20 years old, he's only got a handful of Premier League starts.
03:10The best is still yet to come.
03:11And he's a frightening talent.
03:12To fit both of them in, I think it is possible.
03:15It's just Morgan Rodgers has been playing so well and just behind the striker.
03:19You can't just take him out.
03:20He needs to drop off in form before Durant can get in there.
03:23Or maybe Rodgers moves out to the wing, but then you lose the likes of Leon Bailey and Jacob Ramsey.
03:28John McGinn's injured.
03:29Maybe that does open up an opportunity for Durant to shift into the team.
03:33But it's a fantastic problem having that kind of squad depth and that quality,
03:37especially when you're playing in the Champions League.