Villa star Idrissa Gueye can hold his head high despite defeat

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Aston Villa’s Idrissa Gueye put in a decent display at Watford.

Aston Villa midfielder Idrissa Gueye was yet again one of his side’s standout performers during the recent 3-2 defeat to Premier League opponents Watford at Vicarage Road.

The Senegal international joined the Villains from Lille last summer, arguably as a replacement of some sort of Fabian Delph who traded Villa Park for Manchester City in controversial circumstances.

The holding midfielder is good in the tackle, positionally aware and capable of making him plenty of ground.

However, his decent performances have often been overlooked as a result of the team’s dire run of form, ending with the club suffering relegation from the top-flight long before the season end.

Supporters have made no secret of their feelings for a number of Villa’s under-performers, yet throwing Gueye in with the likes of Joleon Lescott, Leandro Bacuna and Micah Richards.

As shown by the table provided by Opta, Gueye can once again leave the field with his head held high after putting in a decent performance despite his side suffering yet another embarrassing defeat.

Villa led Watford for much of the match, yet two Troy Deeney strikes in the final three minutes saw the Hornets overturn a 2-1 deficit to win 3-2 – summing up Villa’s season in a nutshell.

But Gueye was impressive, and no Premier League player made more turnovers in possession in the middle of the field than the 26-year-old who posted a remarkable eight plus 11 ball recoveries.

The tenacious midfielder is heading for the Championship, yet he is perhaps too good of a player to be down there and it would come as a huge surprise to see him still at Villa beyond the summer.

A number of Premier League clubs would be wise to draft him in ahead of next season, or failing that a switch back to France or to another one of Europe’s big leagues could be on offer.