EMERY'S SIDE HAS LONG OUTSTRIPPED ITS UNJUST REPUTATION.. TIME TO RECOGNISE IT

They cannot buy the players they need, and they are not producing them from the youth system either.

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You can talk about possession — United had 57%, Villa 43% - but possession without incision is just numbers on a screen. They are building a billion-pound stadium, but you wonder who is going to fill it if the football continues to drift into mediocrity. Watching United at the moment is an exercise in frustration.

Villa, by contrast, have clarity. They have players who believe in what they are doing. Morgan Rogers was sensational. Two great goals, taken with confidence and quality, and suddenly the conversation shifts.

England? He deserves his caps. World Cup? He is a candidate, absolutely.

He is world class, or at the very least on the road to it, and Villa will be desperate to keep him. They should be. Players like that can get you silverware.