Aston Villa midfielder explains why he is 'grateful' for Unai Emery guidance
Record signing Amadou Onana has thanked Unai Emery for helping him grow “as a man and player” in his first season at Villa.
The Belgium international has scored five goals in 33 appearances since joining from Everton in a £50million deal last summer.
And while Onana acknowledges he still has room to improve he believes Emery has already made him a better player, claiming the boss has helped him discover qualities he didn’t know he had.
Villa have won 32 matches in all competitions this season and asked what was behind the success, Onana replied: “A lot of work. A lot of work and details, because the manager is obsessed with details - that’s what makes him so special and so good. If you ask me, he’s one of the best in the industry, and he's made me personally a better player as well.
“There’s a lot of work, and he’s just tried to show me aspects of my game that I didn’t even even know about.
“He is helping me to grow, as a man and as a player - I’m grateful for the opportunity every day.”
Onana quickly became a popular figure with supporters thanks to his post-match “fist pump” celebrations.
Asked if he felt he had won over the fans, the 23-year-old replied: “It’s for them to decide, but I think the relationship with the fans is really good.
“The first pumps at the end, that's my way of saying thank you, because they supported us for the whole season.”
