Aston Villa manager Unai Emery will want to see defender Alex Moreno ‘playing at a better level’ than he currently is, journalist Dean Jones has suggested to GIVEMESPORT.
The 29-year-old only arrived at the Midlands outfit in the January transfer window, but he’s struggled to find his best form for his new employers just yet.
Aston Villa news – Alex Moreno
Moreno became Emery’s first signing since taking over the reins at Villa Park after he completed a £13.3 million switch from La Liga outfit Sevilla.
The Spaniard reportedly put pen to paper on a three-and-a-half-year contract worth £70,000-per-week when he arrived on English shores and was tasked with providing cover and competition for Lucas Digne.
However, Moreno has arguably failed to live up to expectations so far with Villa also lacking consistency in their results during him time at the club.
Victories over Leeds and Southampton were followed up by a string of three consecutive defeats at the hands of Leicester City, Manchester City and Arsenal.
Moreno has helped Villa get back to winning ways against Everton and Crystal Palace since, but the full-back will surely be hoping to showcase his true ability between now and the end of the season.
What has Jones said about Moreno?
Jones has told GMS that Emery will be demanding an improvement from his winter signing as he has lofty ambitions at Villa.
He said: “I think he’ll obviously want to see him playing at a better level than this. But it’s important to realise that Emery really does believe that he’s going to take this team into European football, and quite quickly.
“So, it’s only natural that he’s going to get frustrated along the way with performances that he doesn’t think are of a high enough level as part of the process.”
How has Moreno been playing?
Moreno has made seven appearances for Villa to date, failing to find the back of the net while registering one assist along the way.
As per WhoScored, the left-back has also only averaged one tackle, 0.3 interceptions, 1.1 clearances, and 0.3 blocks per Premier League outing, placing him outside the top six for each metric when compared to his teammates.
Nevertheless, Moreno has only started three top-flight fixtures at this moment in time, and he is likely to improve significantly over time.
Emery will surely not fully judge Moreno until next term after he has had time to settle into his new surroundings and become familiar with his Villa colleagues during pre-season.
