Marco Asensio: Position, style of play, stats, international caps & more

Having already ticked Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain off the list in terms of teams he's played for, Marco Asensio has the chance to rewrite history at Aston Villa in what could well be a remarkable six-month loan spell.

Despite displaying obvious ability at Los Blancos and PSG, Asensio struggled to make a breakthrough into either team's starting XI, so a move to Aston Villa is the ideal chance for the Spaniard to demonstrate just how talented he is.

Here is everything you need to know about Aston Villa loanee Marco Asensio.

Marco Asensio age, nationality & background

Born on 21st January 1996, Asensio is 29 years old.

Asensio was born in Palma, Spain to a Dutch mother and a Spanish father.

Attributes

Position

One of Asensio's many strengths is his versatility, emerging as a right winger but equally as comfortable in a more central attacking midfield role or as a left-sided attacker.

Height and build

Asensio is 6ft and of a lean build.

Preferred foot

Asensio is primarily left-footed, though is capable on his weaker right foot.

Style of play

Marco Asensio owns very few weaknesses in his play, so it's clear to see why Unai Emery's side are constantly trying to get the Spaniard on the ball.

Persistently scanning the space around him, Asensio has a knack for appearing in areas where he best believes he can impact the game, predominantly in half-spaces.

Villa's number 21 will go through small periods of the game where he won't have the ball, yet he will still be impacting play with movement that drags opponents out of position.

It's what he does when in possession of the ball that impresses the most, however, possessing an elegance that is typical of a Spanish attacking midfielder.

While he has no fear in taking his man on, he is also capable of threading passes in behind for fellow forwards to run on to. This has proved extremely handy since his arrival at Villa Park, playing with the likes of Ollie Watkins, Marcus and Rashford and Morgan Rogers who are especially direct in the runs they make.

Stats

Metric	Total (Per 90)	Rank
Progressive passes	5.56	Top 1%
Passes into final third	3.75	Top 1%
Assists	0.41	Top 1%
Goal-creating actions	0.76	Top 2%
Successful take-on %	59.1%	Top 1%

(Source: FBref.com based on comparison to positional peers in Men's Big 5 Leagues in last 365 days. Based on 1,557 minutes played).

Is Marco Asensio eligible to play against Paris Saint-Germain?

Aston Villa get set to face Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League in April.

While Asensio did play in the competition for PSG as recently as November, he is eligible to feature against his parent club with UEFA regulations differing from Premier League rules.

Career so far

Previous clubs

Joining Mallorca's youth academy aged 10, Asensio would spend eight years progressing through the ranks before making the move to Real Madrid in 2014.

He remained on loan at Mallorca for the 2014/15 campaign, followed by a loan move to Espanyol in 2015.

Nine years, three La Liga titles and three UEFA Champions League honours later, Asenio left the Spanish capital to join the French capital, signing for PSG in 2023.

Signing a contract at the club until June 2026, the Spaniard would last just 18 months at the club before moving to Aston Villa on loan in the 2025 January transfer window.

It's yet to be seen as to whether Villa will pursuit a permanent deal for Asensio, but reports suggest his parent club wouldn't be against the sale of the 29 year old.

International caps

Having represented Spain at U16, U19 and U21 level, Asensio was handed his international debut on 29th May 2016, starting in a 3-1 win against Bosnia.

The versatile forward is closing in on 40 international caps, though he remains out of the Spain national team picture, last featuring in 2023.

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