Danny Murphy blown away by Zion Suzuki after Aston Villa win at Tottenham

Aston Villa’s late summer recruitment is beginning to make an impact, with goalkeeper Zion Suzuki earning major praise after playing a decisive role in the 3-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

Unai Emery’s side secured their first three Premier League points of the season in North London, continuing an encouraging turnaround after a difficult opening period.

Johan Manzambi and Nicolas Jackson were among the goals, but Suzuki’s performance at the opposite end proved equally important as Villa survived Tottenham’s strongest spells.

Tottenham created opportunities to take control before Villa established themselves in the contest.

Suzuki denied Savio early on before reacting sharply to keep out Archie Gray at his near post. He also dealt confidently with deliveries into his penalty area and made another save from Savio at distance.

His contribution earned him Player of the Match recognition from Ally McCoist on TNT Sports.

Danny Murphy was similarly impressed when analysing Suzuki’s performance on Match of the Day.

“The first job you want your keeper to do is make saves and he did that really well when Spurs were having their best spell,” Murphy said.

The former Liverpool midfielder described Suzuki’s distribution with both feet as “phenomenal”, highlighting another dimension the Japanese international can bring to Emery’s team.

Suzuki was prepared to take risks in possession, occasionally surrendering the ball when attempting more ambitious passes.

However, Murphy believes his technical ability gives Villa an important weapon against aggressive pressing teams.

Against Tottenham, Villa were willing to play longer passes towards Manzambi and Jackson rather than continually attempting to build through Spurs’ pressure.

“The technical ability he has with both feet and the trajectory of some of the balls is really good and of a real high level,” Murphy added.

Villa’s late transfer business was designed to strengthen a squad that looked short of options during the 4-0 opening-day defeat against Brighton.

With Suzuki impressing in goal and fellow newcomers Manzambi and Jackson scoring against Tottenham, those additions are already beginning to influence results.

Villa have now won three of their last four matches across all competitions after a difficult start to the campaign.

For Suzuki, the Tottenham performance offered an early indication of why Villa identified him as an important addition, with his shot-stopping and distribution potentially giving Emery another way to build attacks throughout the season.