‘Better With His Feet’ – Aston Villa Star Earns Favourable Comparison From Ex-Villa Man | OneFootball

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Former Aston Villa defender Stephen Warnock believes Villa new boy Zion Suzuki is better with the ball at his feet than his predecessor Emi Martinez is.

Aston Villa experienced change in the goalkeeping department this summer, with Japan’s World Cup star Suzuki signed from Italian outfit Parma.

Several Premier League sides showed interest in Suzuki, while at one stage it seemed he would go to Paris Saint-Germain and then be loaned to Juventus for a year, but that deal fell through.

Aston Villa moved quickly to bring Suzuki to Villa Park and he is the club’s number 1, with Martinez offloaded to Chelsea.

Martinez had been keen to move on, with Juventus a destination he liked, but the Bianconeri could not afford him.

Suzuki was in action for Aston Villa in their 0-0 draw away at Hull City in the Premier League on Saturday evening and his footwork caught Warnock’s eye.

The former Villa star believes that with the ball at his feet, Suzuki represents an upgrade on what Martinez could do for Unai Emery’s side, which gives the side an extra outlet.

“Zion Suzuki is better with his feet than Emi Martinez was”, Warnock said on BBC Radio 5 live.

“Suzuki wants to be an extra player.

“There was an element there where he was waving Tyrone Mings on saying ‘go higher up, I can receive that pass’.”

Warnock added that Suzuki is, in effect, a ‘sweeper ‘keeper’.

“Zion Suzuki plays high and he plays as a sweeper keeper, so he is always out of his goal.”

Aston Villa have still not won a Premier League game this season after their 0-0 draw away at new boys Hull City.

Emery will switch Aston Villa’s focus for their next clash, with a start to the club’s Champions League league phase campaign in Belgium against Club Brugge.

Club Brugge played in the Belgian Pro League on Friday evening and ran out 1-0 winners against Lommel.

It remains to be seen if an extra 24 hours freshness has an impact when they play host to Aston Villa, who they met three times in the 2024/25 Champions League, winning once and losing twice.