Zion Suzuki is making a case to be the signing of the Premier League season

There were plenty of questions surrounding Aston Villa's recruitment during the summer, particularly given the number of established players leaving the football club, but one of the most impressive aspects of the new-look team has been just how quickly certain individuals have established themselves. Zion Suzuki is probably the outstanding example of that, and after another excellent performance against Manchester City, there's a growing argument that Villa have secured one of the best signings made by any Premier League club during the transfer window.

Speaking on The 1874 Podcast, The Athletic's Aston Villa correspondent Jacob Tanswell went even further, suggesting that Suzuki might actually be the most transformative signing of the summer across the division. It's a substantial claim when you consider the money spent by some of the Premier League's biggest clubs, but when you look at the impact the Japanese international has already had, I don't think it's particularly difficult to understand his reasoning.

We've spoken extensively about Suzuki's distribution, because the range and quality of his passing gives Villa an entirely different dimension when building attacks. He's capable of playing through the lines, disguising passes into midfield and finding Nicolas Jackson further up the pitch when opponents attempt to press aggressively. There are occasions when the speed at which he makes those decisions can surprise even his own teammates, with Matty Cash acknowledging after the City game that Suzuki doesn't always give players much warning before finding them with a pass.

However, I think there's a danger that concentrating too heavily on his ability with the ball means we're overlooking just how good a goalkeeper he actually is. Jacob made a particularly interesting point about the importance of Suzuki's saves in some of Villa's biggest victories, because while the attacking players will naturally receive the headlines, there have been crucial moments when he's prevented games from taking a completely different direction.

Against Tottenham and Manchester City, Suzuki produced saves at important stages of the respective matches, and it's worth considering how differently those games might have developed had Villa conceded. Football matches are often decided by relatively small moments, particularly against high-quality opposition, and having a goalkeeper capable of producing something exceptional when the team needs him is an enormous advantage.

What I also find encouraging is the maturity Suzuki has demonstrated since arriving at the club. He's still only 23, yet there doesn't appear to be any sense that he's overwhelmed by the responsibility of playing for a team competing in the Champions League and attempting to establish itself towards the top of the Premier League.

Jacob revealed that Villa had been doing background work on Suzuki for around two years before eventually bringing him to the club, with particular attention paid to his character and temperament. The feedback was that he possessed the personality required to adapt quickly, and I think we're seeing the benefit of that preparation now because he looks completely comfortable with the demands being placed upon him.

There's a confidence to the way he operates that spreads throughout the team, even when he's taking risks in possession. Emery clearly wants his goalkeeper to be brave, and Suzuki has the technical ability and composure to carry out those instructions without abandoning the fundamental responsibility of keeping the ball out of his net.

If the PFA Team of the Year were selected now, Suzuki would have an extremely strong case for inclusion, and while it's obviously very early in the season to be making definitive judgements, his performances have certainly justified that level of recognition.

For me, the most exciting aspect is that we're discussing a goalkeeper who is still relatively young and adapting to a new football club, yet he's already producing performances that are helping Villa win major matches. There's every reason to believe he can improve further under Emery, particularly as his understanding with the defenders in front of him continues to develop.

We rightly spend a lot of time talking about the attacking players Villa have recruited and the quality they've added to the team, but Suzuki is having an equally important influence at the opposite end of the pitch. If he maintains anything approaching his current level throughout the season, I suspect we'll be discussing him as one of the outstanding pieces of business in the Premier League, rather than simply one of Aston Villa's best signings.