George Hemmings' New Contract Shows Just How Highly Unai Emery Rates Aston Villa's Young Midfielder

George Hemmings has agreed in principle to sign a new five-year contract with Aston Villa, according to Jacob Tanswell in The Athletic, and I think the most interesting aspect of this news is what it tells us about how Unai Emery views the young midfielder and the role he expects him to play at the football club over the coming years.

I was actually speaking to Jacob a couple of weeks ago about Hemmings and raised the possibility of him potentially benefiting from a loan move, because after starting the season in the first team he'd found himself on the fringes following a little injury and I wondered whether regular football elsewhere might be beneficial for his development.

Jacob pretty much laughed off the suggestion, which probably tells you everything about the way Villa view Hemmings internally, because he's not somebody they're looking to send out for experience or develop with a view to eventually bringing him back into the fold, he's somebody they already consider capable of contributing to Emery's first team.

That's an important distinction, particularly when you consider the approach Villa have taken with a number of their younger players in recent years, because the club have generally been quite willing to move academy prospects on, often inserting clauses into those deals which protect their interests if the players subsequently develop elsewhere.

With Hemmings, the approach is clearly different, and Tanswell's reporting suggests that this new contract is about recognising his increased status within the squad rather than simply protecting the value of another talented academy graduate.

He's already had a professional contract, but this is effectively Villa rewarding him as a first-team player, and when you consider where he was twelve months ago compared to where he is now, I think that's a pretty significant development.

We shouldn't forget how he started the season either, because although his involvement has become more limited recently, he was regularly featuring in the team during the opening weeks of the campaign and was trusted by Emery at a time when Villa were struggling to find results and performances.

I thought he gave a particularly good account of himself against Paris Saint-Germain in the Super Cup in Salzburg, which was a pretty demanding environment for a young player to be thrown into, and while we've only seen flashes of his ability since then, I think he's demonstrated enough to suggest that he belongs at this level.

One thing that probably doesn't get discussed enough is that Hemmings is effectively learning a new position while playing first-team football, because much of his development previously came as a number six or number eight, whereas Emery has largely been using him in those wider attacking midfield positions.

We've seen him operating as a left-sided ten and he was used on the right against Manchester United at the weekend, which requires a different understanding of the game, particularly in terms of positioning, defensive responsibilities and the movements Emery expects from players operating in those areas.

It's not necessarily where I see his long-term future, but I can understand why Emery has been prepared to use him there, particularly given how much time Hemmings has spent training with the first team and learning the manager's methods over the last twelve months.

When Villa were struggling earlier in the season, Hemmings was somebody who understood what was being asked of him, was diligent in his work and could be trusted to carry out the tactical instructions that Emery places such importance on.

That trust shouldn't be underestimated, because we've seen plenty of talented young players come through at Villa without necessarily convincing the manager that they're ready to be involved regularly, whereas Hemmings has clearly managed to establish himself as somebody Emery is comfortable turning to.

I questioned the decision to introduce him against Manchester United on Sunday, particularly given the circumstances of the game, but that doesn't change my overall opinion of the player or the progress he's made, and I don't think we should judge his development purely on what we've seen over the last few weeks.

His injury interrupted the momentum he'd built earlier in the campaign and he's subsequently found it difficult to force his way back into the side, but the fact that Villa are now prepared to commit to him for another five years suggests that his longer-term prospects haven't been affected by that.

I'm particularly interested to see whether Emery eventually starts using him in more central areas, because while he's learning plenty from playing in those wider positions, I do wonder whether his qualities might ultimately be better suited to operating as a central number ten or even deeper in midfield.

We've seen Villa encounter injury problems in those areas before, particularly with players such as Boubacar Kamara, Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana, and should similar issues arise again during the course of the season, I wouldn't be surprised if Hemmings was given an opportunity to demonstrate what he can do in a more familiar position.

I actually think playing centrally, where he can become more involved in possession and influence the game from areas he's accustomed to operating in, might be the direction Villa eventually take with him, although there's clearly value in the tactical education he's receiving by being asked to perform different roles at this stage of his career.

There is a wider point here about Villa's contract business as well, because alongside the news regarding Hemmings and Victor Lindelof, Tanswell has reported that Emiliano Buendia is also close to agreeing a new deal, while Emery himself is expected to sign his new contract shortly.

I've generally been impressed with how Villa have managed contracts over recent years, particularly when you look at the way they protected themselves financially with Jhon Duran before eventually selling him for substantial money, and while the departures of Youri Tielemans and Ezri Konsa demonstrated the risks of allowing important players to move closer to the end of their deals, I think the club have usually been pretty astute in this department.

The Hemmings situation is slightly different because this isn't simply about protecting an asset or ensuring Villa can command a transfer fee further down the line, it's about recognising a young player who has already made the transition into the senior squad and who the manager believes can continue developing within his system.

There's still a long way to go in his development and I don't think anybody should be expecting him to become a guaranteed starter overnight, particularly given the competition for places and the demands of playing for a team competing at the level Villa are now operating at.

But I think this is really positive news, because for all the discussions we've had about the club selling young players and using the academy as a means of generating revenue, Hemmings represents an example of somebody Villa genuinely want to keep and develop within the first team.

The five-year commitment is a strong indication of that belief, and having seen how much Emery has trusted him already, I think there's every reason to believe we'll see considerably more of George Hemmings in an Aston Villa shirt over the coming seasons.