Aston Villa played a blinder earlier this season by making the decision to part ways with Steven Gerrard and replacing him with Unai Emery prior to the break for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The Villans had won two of their 11 Premier League matches with the ex-Liverpool midfielder in charge, losing six times, and the Spaniard has turned their fortune around by winning 13 of his 22 games in the division - losing six.

Emery arrived at the club with a wealth of experience at the top level.

The 51-year-old has managed the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, and Valencia, among others, and has used his coaching ability to enjoy a successful first season with Villa so far.

He has worked with some excellent players throughout his career and could use his prior success with certain individuals to unearth gems from the club's academy in the months and years to come.

One player who could benefit from Emery's coaching is talented midfielder Tommi O'Reilly, who could be the manager's next version of Juan Mata.

Who is Tommi O'Reilly?

The Villa academy product is a left-footed playmaker, like Mata, and has made the matchday squad for two Premier League games since the start of April.

At the age of 19, the dynamo is a prospect who has the potential to break into the first-team on a regular basis in the future and Emery could use his experience of getting the best out of the former Chelsea and Manchester United Spaniard to unearth O'Reilly's ability.

Mata managed five goals and one assist in 24 LaLiga outings during his first senior season with Valencia in 2007/08 before Emery arrived in 2008, which led to the attacking midfielder plundering 11 goals and 17 assists in the Spanish top-flight the following campaign.

In total, the now-Galatasaray gem produced 37 goals and 50 assists in 141 matches in his first few years as a first-team player whilst working with the Villa manager before joining Chelsea for £23.5m, which shows that the experienced coach can get the best out of young talents.

O'Reilly is similar to Mata in that he is a left-footed midfielder who can operate as a number eight, 10, or out wide on the right.

BirminghamLive journalist Ashley Preece once described the youngster as "a proper diamond" and hailed him as "unplayable", which shows how much the Englishman has impressed at youth level this term.

The 19-year-old has scored three goals and provided two assists in 11 Premier League 2 games this term and racked up eight goals and three assists in 25 games for the U18s before making the step up.

These statistics show that the ace is a midfielder with the ability to score and create goals from central positions with his wand of a left foot, like Mata, and Emery must now use his coaching skills to unearth the gem's talent and develop him into his next superstar playmaker in the years to come.