Unai Emery has a much bigger plan for João Gomes at Aston Villa

I've been really encouraged by João Gomes over the last few Premier League matches, particularly against Brentford, where I thought he was our best player, and again at Newcastle United, where he produced another performance that suggested he's beginning to understand exactly what Unai Emery wants from him. We knew what sort of midfielder Villa were getting when they signed him from Wolves in the summer, somebody with enormous energy, a willingness to engage physically and an ability to disrupt opposition attacks, but what's becoming increasingly apparent is that Emery sees a much bigger role for him than simply winning possession and providing protection for the defence.

Jacob Tanswell revealed on The 1874 Podcast that he'd asked Emery specifically about Gomes ahead of the Newcastle game and received a particularly detailed response about how the manager intends to develop him. The most interesting aspect was the suggestion that Gomes is effectively being prepared to take on the responsibilities previously associated with Youri Tielemans, which immediately changes how we should be assessing his performances. We're not simply looking at whether he's winning tackles or covering ground, but whether he's developing the ability to control possession, dictate the tempo of matches and provide the sort of passing quality that allows Villa to progress through different phases of their attacking play.

Tielemans was such an important player in Emery's system because he could influence matches in so many different ways. He could receive possession under pressure, find passes that broke opposition lines and recognise when Villa needed to slow things down or move the ball forward more quickly. Replacing those qualities was never going to be straightforward, particularly with a player whose strengths have traditionally been associated with the more destructive elements of midfield play, but Emery clearly believes Gomes has the technical ability and intelligence to develop that side of his game.

There was a really good example of that against Newcastle, when Gomes provided the assist for Johan Manzambi's winning goal. It's exactly the sort of attacking contribution that Emery wants to see more regularly, and while one assist doesn't suddenly transform him into a controlling midfielder, it demonstrates the potential that exists beyond his defensive work. Jacob explained that the long-term ambition is for Gomes to become a much more complete player, somebody capable of providing goals and assists while maintaining the intensity that made him such an attractive signing in the first place.

One of the challenges will be improving his ball retention, because there have been occasions when Villa have struggled to maintain control of matches despite having players who are capable of winning possession back quickly. The Brentford game was an example of Villa not always managing the ball particularly well, and there have been similar periods in other matches where possession has been surrendered too cheaply. Gomes was among the Premier League players dispossessed most frequently last season, something Jacob highlighted during our conversation, and it's an area that will need to improve if he's going to become the midfielder Emery ultimately wants him to be.

What I particularly like about the situation is that Gomes doesn't have to develop every aspect of his game immediately. Villa have Ross Barkley, who can offer different qualities in possession, while Leon Goretzka provides another option with his physicality, experience and ability to arrive in advanced positions. Emery also sees Gomes as somebody capable of operating in different midfield combinations and positions, whether that's alongside Kamara, Barkley, Goretzka or even further forward when circumstances demand it. That flexibility should be enormously valuable over the course of a season in which Villa are competing on several fronts.

The other important factor is the improvement we're beginning to see from Boubacar Kamara. I've been waiting for Kamara to get back towards his best after a difficult start to the campaign, and I thought there were encouraging signs against Brentford before another really strong performance at St James' Park. Jacob felt it was one of Kamara's best games for Villa, and I can understand why, because he was breaking up attacks, making intelligent tactical fouls when necessary and beginning to look much more comfortable physically. Having Kamara operating at that level gives Gomes a better platform to develop his own game, because the balance between the two becomes much more natural.

I don't think Gomes is anywhere near the finished article, and I wouldn't expect him to be at this stage. He's adapting to a manager who places enormous demands on his midfield players, particularly in terms of their positioning and decision-making, and he's being asked to develop qualities that haven't necessarily been central to his game previously. What encourages me is that we're already seeing improvement, and the combination of his natural intensity with a greater understanding of how to manage possession could make him an incredibly valuable player for Villa.

There's a difference between signing somebody to replace the position a player occupied and developing somebody to replace the influence they had on a team. Emery appears to be attempting the latter with Gomes, and while that will require patience, I think the early signs suggest Villa have recruited somebody with the potential to become a far more complete midfielder than the one we saw at Wolves.