TalkSport reporter Alex Crook has voiced his concern after Diego Carlos’ performance for Aston Villa on Saturday.
The West Midlanders were soundly beaten by newly promoted Bournemouth at a sun-drenched Vitality Stadium at the weekend.
It was a lacklustre display from Steven Gerrard’s side, who were undone by goals from Jefferson Lerma and Kieffer Moore.
Moore proved a real handful for £26m summer signing Carlos, who struggled in his first game in the Premier League against a throwback centre-forward in this day and age.
Gerrard decided to leave out recently dislodged captain Tyrone Mings, but his replacement felt it ‘tough’ on debut.
Writing for the Birmingham Mail, journalist Ashley Preece noted that the Brazilian gave a pat on the back to Moore’s strike partner Dominic Solanke as if to say he wasn’t expecting what he just faced – and Crook believes his struggles will have raised alarms.
Speaking on the TalkSport GameDay podcast, he said: “They were very physical, Bournemouth; Scott Parker made no apologies for that.
“He said afterwards, ‘we want to be horrible to play against, particularly here at the Vitality.’ They were certainly that, but Villa were dreadful.
“Diego Carlos, bullied by Kieffer Moore – that would be a worry considering the money they spent on him.”
TIF Thoughts on Carlos and Villa…
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It was definitely a debut to forget for Diego Carlos, as despite having vast experience in France and in La Liga as well as the Champions League, he was sent a staunch reminder that he is now in the Premier League.
He lost possession a joint team-high of 20 times in the game while completing 78% of his passes, making just one tackle and failing to win any of his three aerial duels (SofaScore).
What are usually his strengths were actually what let the defender down on Saturday, and Villa supporters will be hoping he acclimatises quickly to avoid a repeat performance.