Aston Villa youngster Lamare Bogarde has picked out teammates Morgan Rogers and Ezri Konsa as the players he believes are ‘really top’.
Voetbal Primeur have an interview with the Aston Villa youngster today in which he assesses various players and discusses his icons in the game.
He explains that he sees Feyenoord’s Lutsharel Geertruida as a player on the rise, admitting he watches him and looking to learn from him to develop his own game.
This is also an honour he afforded on former Manchester United and Real Madrid star Raphael Varane, who he admits he watched on a regular basis during his career as he believed he was at the top of the pile.
But when it comes to Aston Villa, there is one defender he is learning from all the time, and that is Ezri Konsa.
“When I came to Villa, there was one player who immediately took me under his wing, and that is Konsa,” he said.
“Now he has also become a good friend of mine. He is a lovely guy and a strong defender. He is now also in the national team of England, and I think that is certainly right.
“He has everything of a top player in the Premier League. Not everyone in the Netherlands may know him that well, but I learn a lot from him, he is really top.”
At the other end of the pitch, Bogarde feels it is Rogers who deserves the attention as he continues to shine under Unai Emery.
Rogers arrived at Aston Villa from Middlesbrough at the end of the January transfer window in a €9.4m deal and hasn’t looked back since, establishing himself as a key player under the Spanish coach and making his England debut in this international break.
The 22-year-old is a rising star of the future and, under Emery’s leadership, seems to be taking steps forward week by week. Bogarde is watching that from close up and admits he’s very impressed.
“He is really abnormally good,” he added.
“A lot of people may have had doubts, because he came from Middlesbrough, but he is really a special player. Also in training, every day. Then you think: Yes? How? He is a scary duo with Ollie Watkins. They are really top players.”
