Exclusive: Aston Villa’s Matty Cash reveals his favorite full-back in the Premier League – ‘an incredible footballer’

Matty Cash has enjoyed a productive week in his Premier League career.

In an exclusive interview with TNT Sports, Cash spoke about a variety of topics, one of which was his favorite full-back in the Premier League.

The Poland international mentioned three players, one of which he described as “one of the best players” in the Premier League era.

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Cash detailed how the role of the full-back has changed as the Premier League has evolved and how different managers have implemented that philosophy into their games.

“The game has definitely changed,” Cash explained. “When I first came to Villa, the full-backs were just overlapping and high up the pitch and not worrying about what was going on behind them.

“As the years have gone on, you’ve started to see Pep (Guardiola) play full-back in a more inside role, and you’ve also seen teams like Pedro Polo at Tottenham play at opposite full-back.

“But now, thanks to Unai (Emery) and other players who are involved in the game in general, you can see more of a tactical side.

“Now as a full-back, when you play against a team that uses fast wingers and stays up high, you have to be ready to change your role and play as a deeper full-back, and you have to be more alert for them instead of doing your own thing.

“You have to worry about the wingers as full-backs as well, because they can attack, overlap and join the play. It’s great what the manager has done tactically at Villa. We have roles and responsibilities and we adapt tactically to who we play and when.”

In recent years, the importance of full-backs in the game has increased, with Dani Carvajal playing a key role in Real Madrid and Spain’s recent successes, and Achraf Hakimi being integral to Paris Saint-Germain’s historic treble last season, including winning the UEFA Champions League for the first time.

Cash also detailed how he studies his contemporaries in the game, highlighting three of the Premier League’s greatest players in the full-back position.

“I love watching the full-backs and I study their game a lot in different scenarios, whether it’s one-on-one defending or how they interact with wingers. And I try to add that to my game,” he said.

“I love watching Reece James because I think he’s a fantastic footballer and he’s an unbelievable defender. I also love watching Trent[Alexander-Arnold]but I think Kyle Walker is one of the best full-backs the Premier League has ever seen.”

“I’m just trying to put everything together, adding my qualities and what I know I do well to my game. I’m studying the full-backs a lot to see what they do well and what I can do more of.”

“They’re going to miss someone like him.”

Cash and his Villa team-mates will be hoping to add to Liverpool’s Premier League woes in Saturday’s game against Anfield.

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“Trent is an incredible football player and has provided us with a number of passes that have been important to their success in the past,” he said.

“He linked up very well with (Mohamed) Salah and Trent found Salah when no one could find him and that allowed Salah to score a lot of goals.

“Certainly they will miss a player like him, because he was a very good player and gave them a lot.”

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