Ahmed Elmohamady has expressed his delight after signing a one-year contract extension with Aston Villa. Egypt international Elmohamady arrived at Villa Park from Hull City in July 2017 and he has been an integral part of the first-team side ever since, making 88 appearances across the Championship and Premier League.
The 31-year-old right-back, who can also play as a winger, featured 41 times in the league last season as the Villans won promotion to England’s top flight via the play-offs, beating Derby County 2-1 in the final at Wembley.
He scored two goals during the 2018/19 campaign and provided the crucial assist for Anwar El Ghazi’s opener in that final victory over the Rams, who are now managed by Phillip Cocu after he replaced Frank Lampard this summer.
Elmohamady, who has started both PL matches this term, was linked with a potential summer exit but he has reaffirmed his commitment after putting pen-to-paper on a one-year contract extension.
Elmohamady is expected to retain his place in the starting XI on Friday night when Villa play host to Marco Silva’s Everton, who defeated Watford 1-0 last time out to register their first win of the campaign.
Dean Smith’s men have lost their opening two matches, going down 3-1 to Tottenham Hotspur on the opening weekend before losing 2-1 to Bournemouth last Saturday.
Villa have won just one of the last 11 meetings against the Toffees, who won the most recent encounter 3-1 back in 2016 with Ramiro Funes Mori, Aaron Lennon and Romelu Lukaku all on the scoresheet.
Ivory Coast forward Jonathan Kodjia, who has a goal ratio of almost one in three from nearly a century of Villa appearances, is unavailable due to an ankle issue, meaning club-record signing Wesley will likely retain his starting place as he looks to break his Premier League duck.
Another summer signing, defender Kortney Hause, is also missing with a similar problem while fellow centre-back James Chester will not be adding to the Premier League experience he gained during his time with Hull City. The Wales star is yet to appear this season and will be missing again with a thigh injury.
Scotland international John McGinn has scored Villa’s only goal so far this term, that coming in the loss to Spurs, and he will be hoping to fire his side to their first points of the campaign, while Jack Grealish, who is being tipped to earn a call-up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad, is set to continue in the middle of the park.
Chelsea’s Mason Mount and Leicester City’s James Maddison are also expected to make the step-up to the senior ranks after impressing at the start of this season.
