Aston Villa's Calum Chambers during the warm up before the match
Former Aston Villa forward Gabby Agbonlahor has taken aim at current centre-back Calum Chambers.
The Lowdown: Lack of game time
Chambers made the move to Villa Park from Arsenal last year but has made just 19 appearances for the club in all competitions.
The 28-year-old has turned out eight times during the current campaign, starting just two Premier League fixtures, the last of which came in a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City.
He returned to the bench last weekend in the loss to former side Arsenal, with Villa now losing their last three in the top flight and conceding 11 goals.
The Latest: Agbonlahor’s comments
Talking to Football Insider, Agbonlahor didn’t hold back when it came to assessing Chambers, labelling him as slow, sluggish, a squad player for a club at the bottom of the league and claiming Villa need better.
“He’s 100% not a Premier League defender, for me.
“I’ve watched him at Arsenal, Fulham, and now he’s at Villa – he’s not good enough.
“He’s slow, sluggish, not physical enough – he doesn’t have the attributes of a centre-back.
“He is a squad player for a club at the bottom of the league, at best.
“For him to play against Man City – I knew it was game over when I saw that team sheet. Aston Villa need better backup than Calum Chambers.”
The Verdict: Has a point…
It’s safe to say that Agbonlahor doesn’t think Chambers is good enough, and when you look at the current campaign statistics, he has a point. The centre-back has been the club’s worst-rated player this season, averaging a poor 5.93/10 match rating, as per WhoScored.
He ranks low in the Villa squad for tackles made per 90 but high when it comes to fouls committed. Chambers averages just 23 passes attempted per game, compared to Tyrone Mings’ 48 and Ezri Konsa’s 46, and with Diego Carlos on the comeback trail from injury, moving Chambers on in the summer could be a wise move.
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