As good as Asensio: Aston Villa ace proved he’s a £39m star in the making

It wasn’t a vintage performance, but Unai Emery‘s side were in control throughout and now step into the last eight of England’s top cup competition for the first time in a decade – and doesn’t Emery just love a knockout-style trophy.

The Bluebirds were resilient and thwarted Villa Park’s hosts before the interval, with Ollie Watkins and Marcus Rashford missing great chances to put Villa in front, but it was Marco Asensio once again who came up with the goods to avoid a cup upset and shift one step closer.

Marco Asensio strikes again

Aston Villa welcomed Asensio from Paris Saint-Germain in January, bringing him to England on loan until the end of the term.

After scoring twice during last weekend’s dramatic victory over Chelsea, the 29-year-old was benched at Selhurst Park as Villa were thrashed by Crystal Palace, but he proved his clinical worth once again in the FA Cup.

Sharp positioning and cutting finishing left the second-tier opponents unstuck, thwarting a determined defence and giving Emery something different in attack when Watkins doesn’t have his shooting boots laced.

That’s four goals from six matches for the Spaniard, who’s proving to be a real asset as Aston Villa step into the business end of the season.

However, he wasn’t the only one to shine in the FA Cup, with a much younger teammate showing the signs of becoming a top player.

Emery’s new £39m star in the making

Dutch defender Lamare Bogarde has been at Aston Villa since joining the academy from Feyenoord in 2020, with his technical quality and strong defensive skills seeing him become an increasingly familiar face in Emery’s first team.

Cardiff were limited in their attacking play, but he was composed and cultured, very much settled among his more experienced teammates.

As per Sofascore, the 21-year-old was willing to get on the ball, taking 89 touches, winning three of four contested duels and making three clearances. He was crisp in possession too, completing 96% of his passes (79/82).

Birmingham Live’s John Townley was impressed by the young centre-half as he reprised his starting berth, handing him a 7/10 match rating and praising him for his partnership with Ezri Konsa, chasing back effectively when Cardiff attempted to play in behind the home side’s high line.

Konsa has risen from good to great over the past few years, regarded as a “Rolls-Royce” of a defender by former boss Dean Smith, but since becoming an enviable cog in a rounded and thriving team.

His versatility is one of the things that makes him so impressive, and Bogarde is demonstrating similar positionally flexible virtues, as you can see below.

In fact, Bogarde’s noteworthy ranking among the top 4% of positional peers for pass completion and the top 5% for tackles per 90, as per FBref, has seen him drawn as one of Konsa’s most comparable players right now, among those in Europe’s top five leagues.

According to Football Transfers, the 27-year-old Konsa is valued at £39m, a measure of his progress since signing from Brentford for £12m in 2019.

But in actuality, Aston Villa would be within their rights to field enquiries totalling much more.

In Bogarde, Emery may well have a new young prospect to fashion into a top-class star. He will face tougher tests over the coming months but has come up trumps in recent weeks to help combat injury issues and indeed keep the trophy dream alive.

During the heavy defeat at Selhurst Park, Bogarde still won five of eight duels on the evening, making four clearances and preventing the likes of Ismaila Sarr from dribbling past him even once.

There’s real potential with this one.