What should Aston Villa do with Enzo Barrenechea?

Enzo Barrenechea signed for Aston Villa at the beginning of July as part of the deal that saw former Villa talisman Douglas Luiz head to Juventus for £42 million. Barrenechea impressed with his cameo performances during pre-season but has yet to feature in a matchday squad since the new Premier League season began.

During his press conference on Friday ahead of the weekend's game against Arsenal, Unai Emery confirmed that Enzo would be part of the matchday squad. However, when the team was announced prior to kick-off the Argentine midfielder's name was nowhere to be seen. So, his omission from the squad begs the question: Where does he stand at Aston Villa?

On the day that Enzo signed for the club he spoke of his delight to join an elite Premier League club:

""I feel so happy to be a part of Aston Villa. A very big club, with a good structure and top-level facilities so I’m really happy. I’m coming to the Premier League, one of the best leagues in the world, so I’m very pleased. It’s a new beginning for me.”"

The 23-year-old settled into the squad quickly and was helped by fellow countrymen such as Emiliano Martinez and Emi Buendia, and in particular by fellow new signing and Juventus teammate Samuel Iling-Junior. Iling-Junior himself has also not be a part of the squad since the season began and is now on the verge of leaving the club on loan to sign for Champions League Bologna.

As a result, there is talk that Enzo could follow the same path as Iling-Junior by heading out on loan for the season. Lazio are reportedly interested in signing him but Villa fans on the whole are of the opinion that the youngster should stay with the club.

With the talent he has shown already in a Villa shirt during pre-season it would seem that Barrenechea would provide an excellent level of depth and rotation in defensive midfield. As the fixture congestion begins to get more difficult Villa next month with Champions League matches starting it is unlikely that the likes of Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley are going to be able to play the number of minutes required. Adding to that, should one or two of them sustain injuries then Barrenechea would certainly be needed to step up and play.

Having only played one full season of senior level football for Frosinone on loan in Serie A last season, where he was the stand-out individual, Emery perhaps believes another year out on loan would benefit his development. Villa have already seen the likes of Jaden Philogene return to the club following his year away with Hull City and in that time there were dramatic improvements in his all-round game.

In my opinion, however, and the opinion of a number of Villa fans online I think Enzo would provide excellent quality from the bench. Last season, Enzo was second for Under-23 midfielders playing in the top 5 leagues for progressive passes ahead of the likes of Florian Wirtz and Moises Caicedo. It appears obvious that Enzo has the quality to have an impact should he be called upon and I believe it would be a potential mistake in allowing him to leave on loan.

With the summer transfer window deadline looming, a decision will be made in the coming days whether he will remain at the club going forward or be sent out on loan to gain further experience. One to keep an eye out for.

UTV