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Form of Lille duo should be sparking Aston Villa’s struggling loanee into life
Lille are currently flying in Ligue 1. The 2-1 win at Dijon at the weekend takes them to second in the table, eight points behind the ever-improving Paris Saint-Germain. In two weeks the two clubs face off and, for many pundits, Lille look like the most likely team to take the first points off Les Parisiens this season.
A key reason behind the French side’s success has been the form of their widemen. Jonathan Bamba and Nicolas Pepe are catching the eye around Europe with their exquisite displays.
Combined, the pair have scored 14 goals and assisted seven goals in 10 Ligue 1 games this season.
For one Aston Villa player, this should be acting as a catalyst for an improvement in form.
Anwar El Ghazi has hardly impressed Aston Villa fans on a consistent basis this season. The loanee’s perceived lack of urgency has left many fans wondering why Aston Villa snapped him up on loan.
Of course, he is on loan from Lille. The form of the wingers at his parent club should surely be spurring him on to impress at Aston Villa.
Firstly, if he doesn’t, then Lille clearly won’t have him back and will be wanting to sell him on.
Secondly, if Lille do lose the pair, who are attracting interest from some big clubs, there might be a place for El Ghazi at the club. If he doesn’t perform at Aston Villa, however, then they will simply find other replacements.
El Ghazi needs to up his game soon because, at present, the Dutch international looks unlikely to be wanted by either club at the end of the season.