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Unai Emery raised the level of the Aston Villa squad he took over from Steven Gerrard immeasurably.

Most of the players he inherited, including the likes of Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa were all signed under Dean Smith , while captain John McGinn has had four managers during his seven years at the club having signed under Steve Bruce.

Against Everton last weekend, six of the 11 players who started at the Hill Dickinson Stadium were signed by Smith, with only two players in the starting side who joined under Emery - Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers.

Lucas Digne was the only Steven Gerrard signing named in the team, though Boubacar Kamara would feature in Villa’s best XI if he weren’t injured last weekend. Lamare Bogarde started instead of him against David Moyes’ s

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