Enzo Barrenechea, like Samuel Iling-Junior, had an action packed summer.
He joined Aston Villa from Juventus as part of the wider Douglas Luiz plan but wasn’t part of Unai Emery’s plans for the current campaign, leading to him being loaned to Valencia late in the window.
The midfielder made his Valencia debut at the weekend, coming on against Atletico Madrid as Los Ches suffered a 3-0 defeat. They’re bottom of La Liga with one point from five matches and a relegation battle looks on the cards for the Aston Villa loanee.
Given all of that, it all looks like a nightmare scenario but there’s a lot of optimism being attached to the 23-year-old.
After the game, the Aston Villa owned player spoke to the Spanish club’s official channels and said:
“I’m happy with my debut. I’ve felt very good, I’m feeling better every day, although I still need some playing time. I’ll try to get that little by little.”
There is a similar sentiment amongst the fans too.
DeporteValenciano suggest that the player had a rather good debut and while he didn’t do anything special, there is a feeling that he’s got enough to warrant a regular place in the starting XI.
The midfielder has been described as ‘intelligent’ and is seen as technically astute enough to grow into a bigger role at Valencia.
There is also criticism for Pepelu and Hugo Guillamón, pointing out how Barrenechea might be better at constructing attacks from midfield than the duo.
So, a debut in a nightmare situation, but one the Argentine may be able to take advantage of and turn himself into something of a hero.
