Aston Villa were forced to rebuild this summer, but Unai Emery appears to have done a remarkable job. How many times have those words been said in the Midlands over the past several years?

The Europa League champions have been stripped of their prized players. So many have drawn down the curtain on their time at Villa Park, leaving Emery to recreate a title-winning team.

It has hardly been a free-flowing start to the season for the Villan persuasion, but they have rebounded from setbacks such as this summer's exodus before.

Just think: Jack Grealish's British-record £100m sale to Manchester City precipitated a modern golden era for the Villa.

How Aston Villa bounced back from Grealish sale

Grealish was irreplaceable, and though Aston Villa banked a nine-figure fee for his sale to Manchester City in 2021, many felt robbed of an all-timer, a city-born superstar who could have spearheaded title-winning success.

Aston Villa achieved all that with Emery, just after Grealish moved on. It makes a strong comment on Emery's managerial quality, and the club's resourcefulness after most thought they would fall by the wayside.

The England international is one of the most prominent players of his generation. He is magical on the ball and effortlessly creative, though stints with City and Everton have never produced the same kind of gold dust as when he emerged from the Villan academy.

Now, Morgan Rogers is the proverbial Grealish 2.0. The Three Lions attacker joined Chelsea for £117m this summer after scoring in the Europa League final.

No hard feelings there. It was clear for a while that Rogers wanted to move on, but he gave much to Villa Park, and Emery appears to have used the recouped funds wisely indeed.

Rogers never mimicked Grealish's silky style. They were each their own player, and it does now look like Emery and co have found the new Grealish.

How Emery has found Aston Villa's new Grealish

Aston Villa have since been on quite the ride under Emery's stewardship, but Grealish really was a one-of-a-kind player for them, a homegrown seat-raiser who captivated and dazzled each week.

Now, though, they might have found the second coming in Ibrahim Mbaye, who joined from back-to-back Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in a £43m deal this summer, with Liverpool's vested interest knocked away by a concerted Villa charge.

Mbaye is only 18, but he is undoubtedly one of the most exciting wide prospects out there, with the bona fide technical ability to rival the best in the business down the line.

He chose Emery's Villa as the perfect destination to develop his skillset and chase that dream of becoming one of the best in the world. After two breakout seasons in the French capital, he showed that that is possible, but now, he has the platform to grow into a superstar - just like Grealish did years before him.

They are different players, for sure, but there is something magical about the way Mbaye dribbles too. A fearless and unwavering belief that he is good enough to beat any defender out there.

Hailed as "the future icon of Senegalese football" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, Mbaye is undoubtedly talented enough to leave an indelible mark on Villa history - and unlike Grealish, perhaps he can do so with an outfit throwing punches against heavyweights in the Champions League.

At the World Cup, the up-and-comer also proved that he can perform across different stages, scoring a superb consolation goal against France in the group stage and ranking inside the top quarter of positional peers at the tournament for duels won per 90. In that, he has the potential to go far, not just balletic on the ball and direct in the face of goal, but combative and involved across different phases.

Now, he needs to start playing at Aston Villa. Mbaye has thus far only featured twice in the Premier League, playing just shy of half an hour against Nottingham Forest and then merely six minutes during the recent win over Tottenham. Against Coventry in the Carabao Cup, he did earn the nod from the opening whistle, assisting Ross Barkley's goal and creating four chances across 64 minutes of action.

Mbaye has demonstrated for PSG and Senegal on the biggest international stage that he has the potential to be a superstar. As was the case with Grealish, that is obvious from the start.

Time and patience must be applied with this one, but Emery knows what he's doing, and may well view the skilful star as the next Grealish at Villa Park.