Fixtures
- Club Brugge Vs. Aston Villa – Wed, Nov 6th 2024, 18:45
Amadou Onana is excited for Aston Villa’s UEFA Champions League test against Club Brugge and can’t wait to play his first professional club match in Belgium – the country he represents on the international stage.
The midfielder was born and grew up in Senegal before moving to Belgium as a youngster, embarking upon a youth career in the European country.
Onana subsequently started his senior career in Germany before switching to LOSC Lille and then Everton, from whom he joined Villa in the summer.
The 23-year-old has made 19 appearances for the Belgium national team but Wednesday night’s clash against Club Brugge will be unique.
“I’ve never played a professional game in Belgium, I moved from here when I was 15, went abroad to Germany, France and now England,” he said.
“It will be my first official (club) game here in Belgium, I can’t wait for it.
“I’m used to it because I come back here with Belgium and play with the national team.
“I’m excited, looking forward to it.”
Asked about facing Club Brugge, Onana added: “I obviously know it’s a big club here in Belgium, one of the biggest historically speaking.
“It’s always nice to come back home and face these types of teams.
“Its special because this is where I call home, it’s always nice to come back to Belgium.
“But, at the end of the day, I need to focus on my task and it’s nothing else but a football game. That’s what I do for a living so that’s what I need to focus on.”
Onana arrived in Belgium with his Villa team-mates on Tuesday evening before heading straight to Jan Breydelstadion to speak to media.
The summer signing has performed strongly in the middle of the park this season alongside Youri Tielemans.
And Onana spoke in glowing terms about his Villa and Belgium team-mate and what makes their partnership so impressive.
“I think it comes from playing at Belgium,” he said.
“Youri is someone who’s been in the game for a while and knows different aspects of the game I don’t know.
“It’s really enjoyable to play with him, he’s a guy I can learn a lot from.
“We just have a normal chemistry outside of the field, which you can see on the pitch as well.
“We’re quite complementary with each other, that helps, it makes it easier for me to go out there, put on a show and put on a performance.”
Villa arrive at matchday four on a maximum nine points and yet to concede a goal in the Champions League so far this term.
Club Brugge have won one and lost two of their first three fixtures, with those defeats coming against Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan.
Villa last faced Belgian opposition in the semi-finals of their historic 1982 European Cup triumph, seeing off RSC Anderlecht 1-0 on aggregate, with Wednesday the first meeting between the two clubs.
Onana will look to help guide Villa to another positive result, and he has hailed the impact manager Unai Emery has already had on him – while also insisting he has further room to grow.
“I think Unai has added a lot to my game, I think I’m a completely different player if we compare it to last season at Everton,” said Onana.
“He’s added bits to my game I didn’t have before, so I’m really, really grateful and thankful for that.
“My start has been good, but I think it could have been better.
“I can still improve on different aspects, different parts of the game. I’m learning day-by-day, for me, the manager is one of the best in the business.
“I’m pleased to learn from him and learn from my experienced team-mates as well on a daily basis.”
