Aston Villa moved one step closer to a potential trip to Wembley with a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup at Villa Park at the weekend.
Goals from Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers secured the victory over Ange Postecoglou’s side on Sunday, with the first goal coming inside the opening minute of the match.
Whilst the main talking point was the terrific result and their progression through to the next round of the competition, it was also a big game for two of the January recruits.
Villa pushed the boat out to land Marco Asensio on loan from Paris Saint-Germain and Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United, and both players came off the bench to make their debuts for the club.
Rashford completed one of his two attempted dribbles in his 24 minutes on the pitch against Spurs, but failed to register a shot on goal or a key pass for his teammates.
Asensio, meanwhile, was introduced to the game at the same time as the England international and made a greater impression on the onlooking supporters at Villa Park.
Marco Asensio's debut performance
The Spain international came on for Leon Bailey with 24 minutes left to play and produced a magical cameo that has created plenty of excitement heading into the rest of the season.
Asensio is on loan at Villa until the end of the season, but Fabrizio Romano recently reported that both sides are open to exploring a permanent move in the summer, which means that he may currently be auditioning for a long-term move to England.
The former Real Madrid attacker will certainly be getting a call-back after his first audition, as he caught the eye with an impressive showing against Spurs.
Minutes played
24
Touches
20
Accurate passes
15/15
Key passes
1
Dribbles
1
Crosses
2
Duels won
2/3
Possession lost
2
Interceptions
1
Tackles
1
He completed 100% (1/1) of his attempted dribbles, 100% (15/15) of his attempted passes, and 67% (2/3) of his duels in his 24 minutes on the pitch, to go along with one chance created.
As you can see in the clips above, his cameo was full of sublime touches and turns to retain possession and create openings for the Villans in the closing stages of the win.
Asensio, who has won three Champions League trophies, arrived at Villa with a terrific pedigree, having played for PSG and Real Madrid at the top level for a number of years, and his class was on full display on Sunday.
Surprisingly, however, the 29-year-old, despite his career achievements, is not one of the very top-valued players in the squad, with Transfermarkt currently valuing him at €20m (£17m), at Aston Villa.
Aston Villa's most valuable players
Monchi and Unai Emery have crafted a terrific squad at Villa Park and it is one that is now chock-full of brilliant, high-valued, players who are contributing week-in-week-out on the pitch.
Whilst Asensio does not crack the top ten most-valuable stars at the club, fellow loanee Rashford has arrived as the joint-most valuable Villans ace, with a market value of £46m.
Ollie Watkins and Amadou Onana are also tied with the former Manchester United superstar and England international at £46m, as they make up the top three.
Marcus Rashford
£46m
Ollie Watkins
£46m
Amadou Onana
£46m
Pau Torres
£38m
Morgan Rogers
£33m
Leon Bailey
£32m
Boubacar Kamara
£32m
Ezri Konsa
£29m
Ian Maatsen
£27m
Jacob Ramsey
£27m
As you can see in the table above, Asensio does not make the top ten list, behind the likes of Rashford, Rogers, Bailey, and Ramsey, but he is far from the only star who is unfortunate to miss out.
Belgium international Youri Tielemans is currently valued at €30m (£25m) and this means that, despite being worth more than the Paris Saint-Germain dynamo, he is also not among the top ten most-valuable players in the squad.
That should not take away, however, from the masterclass that Villa have played with the former Leicester City man, as they have hit the jackpot with the midfield maestro.
Villa have hit the jackpot with Youri Tielemans
The 27-year-old magician first made a name for himself in England during his time with Leicester City under Brendan Rodgers, with a return of 28 goals and 26 assists in 195 appearances in all competitions for the Foxes.
In the summer of 2023, Leicester had just been relegated from the Premier League and the midfield star’s contract at the King Power expired, which made him a free agent.
The Villans swooped to sign the central midfielder on a free transfer, which meant that they spent £0 on his transfer fee, to bolster Emery’s options in the middle of the park ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
Tielemans, who was once dubbed “outrageous” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, produced two goals and six assists in 32 appearances in the Premier League in his first season with the Villans, but only started 17 of those matches.
This term, the 27-year-old star has started all 24 of his outings in the top-flight for Villa, which shows that Emery has trusted him to start week-in-week-out in the middle of the park.
Appearances
24
8
Big chances created
10
0
Assists
4
2
Tackles + interceptions per game
3.2
2.5
Duel success rate
55%
53%
As you can see in the table above, Tielemans has offered a constant creative threat in the Premier League for the Villans with ten ‘big chances’ created already.
His form has also helped his market value to soar. In December 2023, the Belgian maestro was valued at €20m (£17m) and this shows that his value has soared by millions in the past 13 months or so.
Villa have, therefore, hit the jackpot with the former Leicester star as they brought him in for £0 and he has developed into a consistent starter who is now worth millions more, and more than Asensio.
Emery will, now, be hoping that the midfielder can continue to shine for the rest of the season and beyond, which could help his value to increase even further to push into the top ten.
Aston Villa eye move to sign £43m striker outscoring Watkins this season
Aston Villa need a new forward, and this star could prove the answer.
ByBen BrowningFeb 10, 2025