Tim Sherwood continued his shopping spree on Friday by securing the services of £8 million box-to-box midfielder Jordan Veretout from Ligue 1 side Nantes. The Frenchman penned a five-year deal and is amongst a raft of nine summer signings by the Aston Villa manager.
The Midlands side fought off stiff competition from Leicester, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur to pull off the signing and Sherwood was particularly chuffed that Veretout chose to ply his trade at Villa Park:
“I’m really pleased Jordan decided to choose Aston Villa over the other options he had and opt to continue his development with us. He is only 22 years old but he is vastly experienced for someone that age. He has played over 140 games in Ligue 1 and is a really exciting young player. I know he is very highly rated over in France so we are delighted to get this deal over the line.”
THE HISTORY
After joining the Nantes youth side in 2003, at the age of 10, Veretout worked his way up through the ranks to earn his first professional cap in May 2011. However it was during the 2011-12 campaign that the midfielder finally cemented a starting role. As well as playing further upfield, Veretout occupied a defensive midfield role diligently and started all but five of Nantes’ Ligue 2 matches.
In the following two seasons, the 22-year-old filled a variety of midfield roles and was a focal part of the promotion-winning squad of 2013. The chopping and changing of Veretout’s role prevented him from finding any consistent attacking output as he only managed two goals during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 campaigns.
Last season, though, he picked up in consistency and quickly began to be considered one of France’s hottest young talents. The central midfielder enjoyed a purple patch during the first 18 league matches, picking up six goals and five assists. Although that productivity tailed off in the middle of the campaign, Veretout netted once and picked up an assist in the final two fixtures to silence any doubters.
The new Villa man is yet to receive a senior international cap but was part of the side that triumphed in the 2013 Under-20 World Cup. Since then the youngster has moved up into the Under-21 squad, making eight appearances.
THE PROSPECTS
With the likes of Fabian Delph and former loanee Tom Cleverley now elsewhere, Sherwood urgently needed to address his side’s problems in the centre of the park. Having acquired Idrissa Gueye, the Villa boss will be hoping for Veretout to carry a major goal threat in light of his stand-out season in Ligue 1 last term. Likened to Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey, the new boy is keen to make his mark:
“I am flattered to read that people think I remind them of Aaron. He is a very good midfield player. But at the same time, I am my own player and play my own game. I want to develop here at Aston Villa. I feel I am a player with big activity – I like to be heavily involved in things. I like to be creative – making goals for my team-mates. That pleases me a lot. But, also, I love scoring goals myself!”
Crucially, the Frenchman’s versatility should help secure a spot in Sherwood’s first XI for the season ahead. His ability to fill any central role, be it defensive or attacking, and even occupy a wider position will afford him a higher chance of grabbing one of those starting places. Sherwood has utilized 4-3-3, 4-4-1-1 and 4-4-2 over the summer and the ex-Nantes man could slot into any of those formations. The former two look the most favourable with three central roles up for grabs; Veretout could play in either the anchor or wider positions of a 4-3-3 and in the central roles of a 4-4-2, or even behind the striker, should Sherwood choose to shift Jordan Ayew onto the flank.
Delving into the data, the Frenchman created an impressive 72 goalscoring chances last term, more than new midfield team-mates Ashley Westwood and Carlos Sanchez combined. Furthermore, no Villa midfielder managed more than Veretout’s 52 shots or seven goals last season but, as mentioned above, he can be very streaky, and Fantasy managers may wait for Veretout to hit a purple patch before investing.
A price of 6.0 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game may prove enough of a deterrent for most, though. Scott Sinclair’s weekend hat-trick strengthened his claim as a viable budget midfielder and, at a price of just 5.0, the winger’s current form should ensure Veretout remains under the radar for now.
With matches at home to Sunderland and West Brom as well as trips to newly promoted Bournemouth and Leicester in the opening five Gameweeks, though, Veretout is afforded the chance of impressing early on. Providing he can continue his Ligue 1 form, the Frenchman is definitely one to watch during this term’s opening Gameweeks.
8 years, 10 months ago1 - N'Golo Kanté both attempted (178) and won possession with (146) the most tackles in Ligue 1 in 2014/15. Solid. (via @OptaJean)