Aston Villa vs. Brighton & Hove Albion: Unai Emery singles out key player, admits early performances 'were not enough'

Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery has admitted that he was not overly impressed with the contributions of Jadon Sancho during the first half of the season.

With the winger out of favour at Manchester United, Villa won the race for the England international's signature in the summer.

The 25-year-old has been limited to 12 starts and 11 substitute outings in all competitions, while he has also struggled for contributions in the final third.

However, as well as scoring the only goal of the game in a Europa League fixture at Fenerbahce last month, Sancho supplied his first assist for Villa's equaliser against Bournemouth on Saturday.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Premier League fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion, Emery acknowledged that the attacker is now delivering what has been expected of him.

© Imago / Sportimage

Emery talks up Sancho improvement at Villa

The Spaniard told reporters: "We'll see again tomorrow. Of course, the first part of the season was not enough. He was trying, he was working, but he was not achieving the performances we needed. But the second part of the season he is getting better. He is getting something for him, for us.

"I spoke with him a few times about the challenge, and he must be very, very demanding of himself and consistent.

"But more and more, it's not time to wait for anyone. We need now to be focused and for everybody to be focused with their wishes and qualities to play to help the team.

"We believed in him at the beginning of the season. We were still believing in him in December and we still believe in him now. And now I think he's getting better and helping more and he's deserving to play more minutes like he's doing."

© Imago / Andrew Yates Sportimage

Why Sancho is now a Villa key man

After the knee injury suffered by John McGinn and Evann Guessand having moved to Crystal Palace, Villa are no longer spoilt for choice when it comes to options for the flanks.

While Leon Bailey's return from Roma will help provide more depth, Sancho has more responsibility to stay fit and deliver in the final third.

Encouragingly, Sancho has already made eight appearances in 2026, as well as racking up 366 minutes across five outings since January 22.

The likelihood is that Sancho will line up on the right flank for Villa's match with Brighton.