‘I know him well, he can destroy us’ – Aston Villa boss Unai Emery says on Chelsea star he knows well
Unai Emery, the manager of Aston Villa, has been talking about a Chelsea player he knows well.
One of the Chelsea players that Unai Emery has been talking about is someone he knows too well. In what should be an exciting matchup between two likely Champions League contenders, Emery’s Villa is getting ready to play Chelsea on Sunday.
With a strong start under Enzo Maresca, Chelsea has outperformed the other team thus far this season and leads the other team by three points heading into this weekend. Villa finished in the top four the previous season, and although they haven’t had the best start to the season, they are just three points behind Chelsea in the league and have a strong start in the Champions League.
Villa can tighten things up with a win, but they face an in-form Chelsea side who have an electric Nicolas Jackson leading the line. Jackson has scored seven and assisted three in 13 appearances across all competitions. On Sunday, Jackson will go up against former Villarreal boss Emery, who played a key role in his development.
Jackson didn’t always get the full trust of Emery at the Yellows, but he was given opportunities, and the striker went on to hit a superb run of form in the months after Emery left for Villa, leading to his Chelsea move. Ahead of going up against Jackson, Emery has been speaking about the 23-year-old’s meteoric rise.
“He was starting the pre-season with the U21s and when he was progressively coming to train with us, he was showing his potential,” Emery told Sky Sports. “We worked during the one year on his skill, he improved his understanding better, how he could exploit his potential. And playing minutes and getting experiences was the next step.
“But his attitude as well was fantastic. He was always learning. He was always demanding to train more, to be focused. He was also being a professional every day out of training sessions at home because he was focused on football like the first priority in his life. And the consequences is coming. It’s coming because he signed for Chelsea. Last year he was adapting so quick, but he was progressively getting better, sometimes without the performance and now he is showing.”