Keinan Davis now needs to step up to the plate for Aston Villa

Last week’s news regarding Keinan Davis’ contract being extended for 1 more year by Aston Villa makes sense for both parties in more ways than one.

Keinan Davis is a player who seems like he’s younger than his 22 years suggest, due to a lack of football in his Aston Villa career. 28 matches in the Championship in the 2017/18 season is his longest stretch of first-team action by far to date.

Persistent injuries between then and now have curtailed his progress, progress which if all had gone to plan, may have included a spell out on loan in the lower leagues to speed up his progress. But the aforementioned injuries, as well as a shortage of strikers, have ensured he’s stuck around at Villa. Whether this year-long contract extension is going to be spent on a temporary basis away from the club remains to be seen, but I would be doubtful of this happening.

First and foremost, he’s now an important part of the squad as he’s back fit again and making appearances from the bench in games. Himself, Ally Samatta, and Borja Baston are currently the only fit strikers, and Davis’ hold-up play certainly compares favorably with the other two.

This is a part of Samatta’s game that could do with improvement, or if a two-man attack is chosen, Davis can take the pressure off Samatta to carry out this task for the team. The importance of being able to hold the ball up in attacking areas is not to be underestimated, as it affords the midfielders and wingers the time to surround the striker with support.

Keinan Davis may well feel that he has unfinished business at the club, as he hasn’t been able to live up to his potential through injury and a subsequent lack of game time. He should be at his hungriest now on the back of this new deal to prove to the manager that he can be relied upon to start games in the Premier League, or if worst comes to worst, the Championship next season.

The club have definitely shown some faith in the player by extending his deal, but they have also been proactive and protected themselves by clearly not wanting to leave themselves short, especially when nobody knows when the next transfer window begins, or indeed what league Aston Villa will be playing in.

Keinan Davis has never let himself down when he has played, but he has to do even more to show his worth and muscle his way past the other strikers in the Villa squad.