Amadou Onana on playing for the Aston Villa badge | OneFootball

Saturday's win over Southampton was important for Aston Villa. Once again, the full depth of this Unai Emery group was on display. This includes a strong midfield that has a lot of great talents for the Villa boss to be able to turn to.

Amadou Onana has made a strong impression in his first year with the club. Among players such as John McGinn and Youri Tielemans, he has certainly solidified a role for himself at AVFC. With 20 Premier League appearances, including 16 starts, he will be a constant fixture in that area of the pitch.

Acquiring talent isn't always the goal. Oftentimes, a player who comes into a club doesn't enter with the hunger or willingness to play for the badge. While highly skilled, they can become more problematic than what they are worth. Either their abilities do not fit into the given system, or their personality doesn't coincide with the rest of the locker room.

Luckily for Villa fans, they've witnessed someone who loves playing for the club. His work rate and strengths are exactly what Emery expects. His adaptability, depending on the game plan, furthermore, makes it easy for Onana to see the pitch and have an impact regardless of who they are playing.

After the match against Southampton, the 23-year-old could be seen walking over to the fans and celebrating after their victory over the Saints. This is only one example of how spectacular the Belgian has been at Villa. Performances aside, he can always be seen visibly appreciating being able to represent AVFC. For a lot of players throughout the Prem and otherwise, they conduct themselves in a way that makes it clear that they couldn't be bothered one way or another. The complete opposite is true for Onana.

Onana shares importance of Aston Villa fans

While speaking with Villa TV, the midfielder was asked about taking the time at the end of matches to thank the club supporters. Onana offered his reasoning with the following statement:

A lot of this is lost in various areas of life. The care and passion in people's crafts aren't as prevalent as in previous decades. Seeing Onana take the time to appreciate the support and mention how much it means to him is a great example of leadership and gratitude that more people should follow. Aston Villa have a good one in the claret and blue.