We look at former Crewe skipper Ashley Westwood and whether he is undervalued at his current club Aston Villa.
When Ashley Westwood left Crewe for Aston Villa in 2012, it looked, as has been the case for many Crewe youngsters, that he was going to have a successful career.
Since then he has made 124 appearances for the Birmingham club with 5 goals and 6 assists to his name. But with Villa`s relegation last season, Premier League clubs could be about to try to sign Westwood. Newly-promoted Burnley are reportedly about to make a £6 million bid.
And you can see why Sean Dyche would be interested in him. To start with, his work ethic is exceptional and Dyche is a big fan of that. He sees Westwood as an ideal replacement for Joey Barton, who left for Rangers earlier in the summer. A pass accuracy on 83% across his 3 years at Villa suggests he is also a man who does not lose the ball a lot.
Most Villa fans, however, want to take the £6 million and run.
They see his passing stat as mis-representative. They say he tend to pass the ball sideways or backwards rather than forwards. They also think his shooting and tackling are poor, with 1.6 tackles per game and a goal on average every 20 matches. A poll on the blog “Read Aston Villa” saw 71% of fans say they would sell Westwood.
So is Westwood overrated or undervalued? It depends what you`re looking for. If you`re looking for a tough-tackling defensive midfielder, then Westwood isn`t the man for the job. 2 yellow cards in 37 league games last season tells you all you need to know on this front. However, whether he passes forwards, backwards or sideways, the passing stat is still very good. He keeps the ball moving and makes sure his team have possession of it. This is why the Villa fans who rate Westwood highly think he should stay at the club.
The second question to ask would be: How far can Westwood go? I think he can be a very good Premier League footballer, but he needs to add another dimension to his game. Whether that be trying to play a difficult, forward pass more often or starting to attempt (and win) more tackles, it does not really matter. The move to Burnley could see him develop further, however some could argue that working under a manager like Roberto Di Matteo could be better for his development.
Wherever Westwood is for the upcoming season, he will be a good player in that side. He just needs to play regularly and he can keep improving.