22 hours ago
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Aston Villa and manager Unai Emery are reaping the rewards for seizing the moment to buck the trend that states the January transfer window is high-risk and rarely offers value.
And if proof were needed, it came in the vital 3-0 win at Brighton that pushed Villa towards the Premier League's top four with an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest at Wembley and a Champions League quarter-final with Paris St-Germain already on a packed agenda.
Villa's second-half goals all came from players who arrived at Villa Park in January, the perfect advert for a fiercely ambitious manager in Emery and the progressive thinking of co-owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens.
Marcus Rashford's renaissance since being rescued from exile at Manchester United was illustrated again when he broke the deadlock with his first Premier League goal for the club, following his first strikes for Villa in the FA Cup quarter-final win at Preston North End on Sunday.
Marco Asensio, on loan from PSG, doubled the lead with 12 minutes left before Donyell Malen, a £19m January acquisition from Borussia Dortmund, put the icing on the cake in front of Villa's ecstatic supporters right at the end of 10 minutes of added time.
Rashford may have claimed most of the spotlight with his re-emergence from the Old Trafford wilderness, but Asensio has had even more impact and provides Villa and Emery with experience, street wisdom, as well as a crucial close acquaintance with the highest prizes at former club Real Madrid.
The 29-year-old Spain midfielder won La Liga and the Champions League on three occasions each with Real, also winning Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France with PSG before falling out of favour under coach Luis Enrique after scoring seven goals in 47 appearances.
Emery has been a long-time admirer of Asensio and the midfielder has been high on his wish list. He was delivered in January to stunning effect.
Since signing, the Spaniard has made 10 appearances for Villa with only four starts, but has scored eight goals, had one assist and created 10 chances.
Asensio has been instrumental in Villa's march to the Champions League quarter-final, scoring from the penalty spot after coming on as a substitute in the 3-1 last-16 first-leg win away to Club Brugge.
He made an even more significant contribution in the second leg at Villa Park, scoring twice in a 3-0 victory after again coming on as a substitute.
It was impact off the bench once more at Brighton, sliding in a powerful finish to effectively seal the win that sees Villa leapfrog the Seagulls into seventh place in the Premier League.
Asensio brings priceless big-match expertise to a Villa side that went into unknown territory in this season's Champions League, albeit under European specialist Emery, who won the Europa League three times at Sevilla, again at Villarreal and even guided Arsenal to the final in what is regarded as an unsuccessful time in north London.
Rashford has now made 11 appearances with six starts. The 27-year-old has three goals and has created 19 chances in 607 minutes on the pitch.
Malen's Villa career has been more of a slow burner, but his confidence will be boosted by a fine performance as a substitute capped with a goal.
There was undoubtedly an element of gamble about Villa's work in January, but it is paying off as their season moves towards a potentially glorious conclusion fuelled by their work in this month.
It is a strategy reflected in results, with Villa's latest win putting them just three points behind Manchester City in fourth place in the Premier League table with eight games left.
Before Rashford and Asensio made their league debuts, Villa had played 24 games, winning 10, drawing seven and losing seven with a points-per-game ratio of 1.54.
In the league games since, they have played six, won three, drawn two and lost one at 1.83 points per game - with both players making crucial contributions in the FA Cup and Champions League.
It remains to be seen if Villa can persuade - or indeed want - Asensio and Rashford to extend their stays, but the results in the crucial short-term and bringing rich dividends.
In a January window often characterised by panic buys and a desire to correct errors from the summer window, Villa have played it smart and can move towards the season's conclusion with huge optimism and expectation.
