How will Villa Cope with Loss of Young & Downing?

Aston Villa are on the verge of losing their second key performer in a matter of weeks after it was confirmed that Liverpool had agreed a £20m fee for Stewart Downing.

The winger was the side's Player of the Year last season and will follow fellow star man Ashley Young out the exit door at Villa Park this summer. The duo ranked as the club's top 2 performers last season according to WhoScored.com ratings and despite receiving around £36m for the pair, new manager Alex McLeish will have a job on his hands to replace the England internationals.

Downing & Young Contribution
Both players netted 7 league goals last season, although just one of Young's efforts came in open play. The Manchester United signing did however weigh in with an impressive 10 assists and when combined with Downing's 7, the two departing players contributed a goal or assist to 31 of Villa's 48 strikes last term.

Young ranked top in term's of shots per game at Villa with 2.1, while Downing came in 3rd behind Darren Bent with 1.6. The Anfield-bound winger's pass success rate was superior to his team-mate and at 78% represents an impressive figure from an out-and-out wide man. Young's total of 72% shows that this area of his game will need to improve if he is to hold down a place at Old Trafford.

Neither player offer much in a defensive sense, with Young's score of just 1.9 tackles and interceptions combined partly attributable to his advanced role in behind the striker for much of the last season. However, neither of their respective suitors have paid for this facet of their game, with Young likely to play in a similarly attacking role for United next season.

The duo topped Villa's charts once more in terms of key passes per game, with impressive figures of 2.3 (Young) and 2.2 (Downing) respectively. Having become renowned for his ability to attack full-backs early on his Villa career, Young's figures of just 0.5 successful dribbles per game come as somewhat of a surprise, while Downing's total of 0.7 is not much better.

Ashley Young was the most fouled player in the Premier League last season, winning a free-kick 2.8 times a match on average compared to Downing's 0.7. This would lead some to suggest that he goes down too easily which could be argued, but his highly advanced figure in this regard is indicative of how he is treated by his opponents due to the threat he creates.

Unsurprisingly the pair topped Villa's crossing ranks from last season, with Young again edging Downing with 2.2 to 2.1 successful attempts per match. Those scores reverse when it comes to long balls completed per game, though Young far exceeded Downing's through balls per game score of 0.1 in playing from a more central position and picking up 0.7 a match on average.

Ready-Made Replacement
In terms of resources at the club, McLeish's ranks are thin on the ground having lost former first teamers such as Brad Freidel, Nigel Reo-Coker and John Carew before he even arrived at Villa Park. However, on the wing they unveiled a real talent in Marc Albrighton last season and his displays in the first half of the season were undoubtedly a rare redeeming factor in a disappointing campaign under Gerard Houllier.

The 21-year-old made 20 starts in his debut league season and weighed in with an impressive 5 goals and 4 assists to boot. his tally in front of goal came from significantly fewer shots per game than his more senior team-mates, while his pass success rate of 72% was identical to Young's but from a wider position.

The youngster offered far more defensive industry in completing 2.3 tackles and 1.6 interceptions per game leading to a combined figure of 3.9 per game, eclipsing Downing's 2.7 and Young's 1.9. In terms of key passes he was some way behind the leading pair but did rank 3rd in the squad with 1.2. However, he completed far more successful dribbles with his figure of 1.3 per game bettering his colleague's combined figure of 1.2. If the England Under-21 international is to become a regular starter next season, his successful crossing (1.2) and long ball (0.8) figures may need to improve.

Potential Targets
Despite having Albrighton at hand, there is no doubt that Villa will need to invest in a winger, with targets being mentioned left, right and centre. Wigan's Charles N'Zogbia is believed to be leading the way, though the likes of Juan Manuel Vargas and Aiden McGeady have also been mentioned.

The Latics midfielder's stats fare well against both Downing and Young in certain regards, surpassing the pair in terms of goals scored (9), pass accuracy (78%) and dribbles per game (3.2). His ability to run at defenders and go past them is unparalleled across the entire Premier League and the Frenchman has completed close to double the amount of successful dribbles to any other player in the league over the past two seasons.

His shots per game of 1.6 and key passes per game of 2 are similar to both Young and Downing, though areas he may need to improve, similarly to Albrighton, include his crossing and long balls, scoring just 0.8 per game in each category.

Formation Ramifications
It remains to be seen as to whether new manager Alex McLeish will stick to the 4-4-1-1 system adopted by Houllier for much of his short spell at the club but the loss of Ashley Young may affect this. Losing Downing will also limit the width of the side which could mean that Villa adopt a more central formation with forgotten men such as Stephen Ireland and Gabby Agbonlahor returning to the fold under the new regime. On the unlikely assumption that the club decided not to re-invest in the summer, there current resources could lead to a line-up as follows;

If Villa were to sign N'Zogbia, or any other winger for that matter, along with the expected arrival of Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given, a more attacking 4-2-3-1 formation could be deployed as follows;