PSG boss explains 'delight' at Marco Asensio playing for Aston Villa in Champions League showdown
Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique is "delighted" Marco Asensio is available to play for Villa against his parent club in the Champions League.
The Spain international striker is poised to line-up for Villa in the quarter-final tie, two months after moving to the Premier League club on loan for the rest of the season.
Asensio, who had found himself out of favour in France, has proved a smash hit for Unai Emery's Villa, scoring eight goals in his first 11 appearances including three in last month's 6-1 aggregate win over Club Brugge.
The 29-year-old is permitted to play against PSG under UEFA rules and speaking ahead of Wednesday's first leg in Paris, Enrique claimed it was a "good thing".
He said: "It doesn’t bother me at all. I'm delighted Marco Asensio can play. He didn't get any playing time here, so he had the option of going to Birmingham. It's good that he's playing.
"He was important. I shared a lot with him in the national team. I had the opportunity to play with him during a World Cup. He's a very important player for me.
"He was important last season but also at the beginning of this season."
Asensio, a three-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid, has already scored more goals for Villa than in 18 months for PSG and reports in France this week have claimed he will be allowed to leave at the end of the season.
While Premier League rules prevent loan players from facing their former clubs, Uefa regulations explicitly prevent clubs from stopping it.
Asensio will be aiming to follow in the footsteps of Philippe Coutinho, who scored twice against Barcelona while on loan at Bayern Munich in the 2020 final. Other prominent examples include goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who helped Atletico Madrid knock out his then parent club Chelsea in 2014.
Earlier this season, Villa winger Samuel Iling-Junior played for Bologna at Villa Park in the Champions League group phase.
PSG are second favourites to win the tournament after knocking out Liverpool in the previous round but Enrique will not under-estimate the challenge posed by Villa.
He said: “Aston Villa play different styles and are similar to us in that sense. It’s a double-header.”
