Aston Villa’s most recent ‘One on One’ interview series featured Republic of Ireland international midfielder Conor Hourihane.
Hourihane continues to split fans in fairness, but what can’t be argued with is his return – six goals and ten assists so far in the Championship campaign of 2018/19 as the club have renewed Play-Off hopes under head coach Dean Smith with our recent run of successive victories in the second tier.
His interview with the Official Site covered a few topics as you’d expect, and he obviously covered his time with us, reaching the 100 appearance milestone and his hopes for the future, but the bit that jumped out at me was the question about which youngster had impressed him the most.
The answer, Keinan Davis.
The 21-year-old Academy product hasn’t had a great campaign this year with injuries significantly holding him back and restricting him to only two appearances but he is now back in training once again, and Hourihane’s not alone in hoping his injury woes are behind him and although he’s got plenty of developing left to do – and needs to discover a goal touch – we’ve already seen what he’s physically capable of doing when leading the line for us.
“He did brilliantly for us last season. He led the line for us until Grabbs came in during the January transfer window. He was very, very good. He was that focal point for us – big, strong, powerful and he can finish, too. He’s not got going so far this season due to little, niggly injuries but I really think he’s got a bright future. And, importantly too, he’s a lovely lad. If he can get over these fitness issues, he will be a good asset for the club.”
Difficult to disagree with his words as given his style, with further improvement he certainly has a role to play in the future.
