Player claims his ‘status has changed’ since joining Aston Villa – Insists he didn’t ‘receive it as a gift’

Amadou Onana has enjoyed an impressive start since joining Aston Villa from Everton in the summer window.

The Belgium international has scored two goals from three league games for Aston Villa. The midfielder spoke to reporters ahead of De Rode Duivels’ UEFA Nations League tie against France later today.

Onana’s comments are relayed by today’s edition of Gazet van Antwerpen and he talked about his time at Aston Villa so far.

“I couldn’t imagine a better start. I feel good about myself,” he said.

The 23-year-old has made 18 appearances for Belgium so far. The newspaper claims he’s becoming one of the leaders inside the national team’s dressing room.

Therefore, he was allowed to the speak in the pre-match press conference, prior to the crucial clash against Les Bleus.

Onana was the only defensive midfielder in Belgium’s win over Israel last week. He has left it to manager Domenico Tedesco to decide whether he’ll have the same role against France.

Gazet van Antwerpen claim Tedesco ‘regularly consults’ with the former Everton man for team selections. They add Onana has ‘gained more weight’ with the national team since moving to Aston Villa and this is echoed by the player himself.

“Maybe my status has changed. I certainly feel a lot of confidence here. I enforced that, not received it as a gift. I hope to continue with that momentum,” Onana explained.