Marco Asensio - Signed on loan

[kippaxvilla2]

He’s not in the Spain squad is he?

[Brazilian Villain]

He’s not in the Spain squad is he?

No, he's in Dubai.

[Dante Lavelli]

people mention he came because emery agreed to play him as a ten. Therefore, are Rogers and Asensio competing for the same spot?  Or is Rogers best position from the wing and drifting?

I’m not judging either player just trying to work out his best position, compared to what we have.

[oldhill_avfc]

Asensio seems best suited centrally.

Rogers looks ok in the middle, but probably better coming off the left in my opinion.

Part of the reason why I’m not sure how Rashford fits into any long term plans (wages, other options, improvement on the right higher priority?)
 

[Smithy]

people mention he came because emery agreed to play him as a ten. Therefore, are Rogers and Asensio competing for the same spot?  Or is Rogers best position from the wing and drifting?

I’m not judging either player just trying to work out his best position, compared to what we have.

Although you could definitely consider them both '10's, they play in very different ways in that role.  Rogers is often looking to take the ball under pressure and turn with it to break the lines with the ball at his feet, whereas Asensio is brilliant at finding that space between the lines to receive the ball there, and then using the ball to create things rather than carrying it great distances (though he's capable).  He's also (demonstrably) better at arriving in positions to score goals.  That's not a criticism of Morgan, just a reflection of the fact that he generally plays a bit deeper.  He will get better at it, definitely.

It gives us brilliant options, as we can change the way we play both with the eleven players on the field, and also from the bench.   Having two very similar 10s is obviously fine, but really your only option from the bench is then 'fresh legs', rather than something to actually change the team set-up.

I like that the players we have competing for their respective spots have such different qualities.  It gives a manager like Unai a great amount of freedom and flexibility.

[brontebilly]

people mention he came because emery agreed to play him as a ten. Therefore, are Rogers and Asensio competing for the same spot?  Or is Rogers best position from the wing and drifting?

I’m not judging either player just trying to work out his best position, compared to what we have.

Rogers is best at 10 for me. Not sure he has the athleticism to play on the sides of our midfield. He gets turned on the ball in a central area and he is very hard to stop. I guess he has been mixed at best on left and to be honest poor on right.

I'm surprised we haven't seen Asensio to my memory being played anywhere but 10 since he came to us.

[Footy-Vill]

Did you know we wanted to sign Asensio on a free but he chose PSG instead.
Emery finally got his man though! I do hope he’s signed permanently.

[Footy-Vill]

Asensio seems best suited centrally.

Rogers looks ok in the middle, but probably better coming off the left in my opinion.

Part of the reason why I’m not sure how Rashford fits into any long term plans (wages, other options, improvement on the right higher priority?)

He is a hugely versatile player who can feature almost anywhere across the frontline or as an attacking midfielder, although he was most often used on the right wing for Real Madrid.

[Olneythelonely]

Did you know we wanted to sign Asensio on a free but he chose PSG instead.
Emery finally got his man though! I do hope he’s signed permanently.

I did

[eamonn]

Emery also wanted Nicholas Jackson and Weston McKennie, the eejit.

[VillaTim]

Emery also wanted Nicholas Jackson and Weston McKennie, the eejit.

He transforms players though so examples like above make sense .

[AV84]

Isn't McKennie having a decent season for Juve and keeping Dougie out of the team? Can't be that bad.

[edgysatsuma89]

people mention he came because emery agreed to play him as a ten. Therefore, are Rogers and Asensio competing for the same spot?  Or is Rogers best position from the wing and drifting?

I’m not judging either player just trying to work out his best position, compared to what we have.

Rogers is best at 10 for me. Not sure he has the athleticism to play on the sides of our midfield. He gets turned on the ball in a central area and he is very hard to stop. I guess he has been mixed at best on left and to be honest poor on right.

I'm surprised we haven't seen Asensio to my memory being played anywhere but 10 since he came to us.

He played on the right once for a half early on and it worked really well.

[Percy McCarthy]

Emery also wanted Nicholas Jackson and Weston McKennie, the eejit.

Both would have been good signings I think.

[eamonn]

Was only half-serious (as usual), Don Unai knows best obvs.