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da bwin： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Jamie Redknapp has come to the defence of Aston Villa striker Wesley following his first goal for the club on Friday night.
What’s he said?
Villa secured their first win of the Premier League season having lost both their opening two matches against Tottenham and Bournemouth.
A first goal from their club-record man and a last-minute finish from substitute Anwar El Ghazi secured all three points against Everton last Friday.
In his regular Team of the Weekend column for the Daily Mail, pundit Jamie Redknapp was pleased to see that the Villa forward had silenced his doubters, he said:
“I’m sick of seeing strikers written off after one of two outings.
“We need to give them time.
“Back in the day, we would wait for 10 games to judge a player properly. That’s why I am glad two strikers, in particular, showed what they are about this weekend to silence the critics – one was Aston Villa’s Wesley.
“They did their jobs and led their teams to their first wins of the season. Now let’s get off their backs and see how they progress.”
Bang on
Last week, Villa boss Dean Smith launched a defence of Wesley, suggesting it was impossible to judge someone so early into the season after he failed to net in his opening two matches.
The season is merely three games old so to see any criticism of Wesley was rather surprising, meaning Redknapp is right in what he says.
Making the transition to the Premier League from a foreign country isn’t easy, especially if you’ve never played in England before. There are numerous things to overcome – having to learn a new language, meet new teammates and adjust to the change in environment.
It was always going to be a slow start, even if he did bag two goals during pre-season, but that has nothing on the physicality or the intensity of the Premier League, as described by ESPN.
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Strength, however, is an attribute Wesley has, winning five aerial duels in his last two Premier League outings, as per WhoScored.
For Club Brugge last season, the 6 foot 3 forward scored 17 goals in 48 appearances which earned him links to top-flight rivals Arsenal before joining the west Midlands club.
His story is quite remarkable having lost his father when he was just nine years old and he also had to work in a factory to pay the bills before becoming Villa’s club-record man – two factors that would have no doubt contributed to a tough character.
As Redknapp says, it’s time to cut him some slack as Friday just proves what Wesley is able to bring to the Premier League this season.
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