Zion Suzuki had big gloves to fill this summer after the sale of Emiliano Martínez but already appears one of the Premier League signings of the summer.

Aston Villa’s new No 1 epitomises the vibrant energy of Unai Emery’s revamped squad and is a goalkeeper perfectly suited to the modern game.

The Japanese international is Villa’s own version of former Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson, who revolutionised English football with a vast range of passing from his own penalty area.

Signed for £30m from Parma in August, Suzuki is a potent weapon for Emery and has allowed Villa to transform their style by building from the back. He can pass long or short, enabling Villa to be unpredictable. He has also produced 25 saves from seven league appearances so far, including six in the 2-1 victory over Manchester City last weekend.

Selling a former World Cup winner in Martínez would have been regarded as a gamble outside Villa, but Suzuki’s impact has been significant and there are already concerns over his expected absence in the New Year when he could miss seven Villa matches because of his involvement in the Asian Cup with Japan. That is a headache Villa hope to overcome, but the fact it is an issue underlines how impressive he has been.

Ten signings arrived over the summer as Emery’s squad underwent a serious facelift. While record signing Nicolas Jackson has impressed – and 21-year-old midfielder Johan Manzambi is a huge talent – Suzuki’s adaptation to a new league has been seamless.

Villa regarded the deal as crucial and, with Suzuki still being only 24, it gave them an opportunity to have longevity in goal.

The Japanese shot-stopper pushed hard for the move after establishing a stellar reputation in two years at Parma.

“Villa were talking to us at the end of last season and even before the World Cup,” Alessandro Pettina, Parma’s sporting director, tells Telegraph Sport.

“We had offers from six different clubs. Even after his first season he had opportunities to leave for clubs in the Champions League. Zion made his own decision which we respected.”

One of the clubs to rival Villa were European champions Paris St-Germain. They even sent a plane to Emilia-Romagna to fly Suzuki back to the French capital but he only wanted Villa, leaving PSG frustrated.

With Martínez’s future uncertain, Suzuki was promised the No 1 position at Villa whatever happened with the Argentine. PSG also had Matvey Safonov as their first-choice goalkeeper with France international Lucas Chevalier as back-up. They also signed highly regarded teenager Alessandro Longoni from AC Milan in July.

It was not the first time Suzuki had intervened in a potential move. In summer 2023 he rejected a move to Manchester United and joined Belgian club Sint-Truiden on loan from his first club in Japan.

Moving to Parma in 2024 was a turning point in his career and proved a very shrewd deal for the Serie A club.

There was a moment last November which typified his warrior spirit. With Parma recovering a two-goal deficit at home to AC Milan, Suzuki collided with winger Alexis Saelemaekers in his area. He sustained a composite fracture of the third finger on his left hand and a broken scaphoid bone in his wrist.

That injury would rule him out until mid-March but, remarkably, he played on for the final 10 minutes. Pettina recalls: “He saved a shot from Luka Modric outside the box with his hand completely broken. When we finished the match he took off his glove and when we saw the damage we could not believe he had saved it.

“He just simply said ‘I will never let my team down’. It was a message to his team-mates in the locker room to never give up. At that moment we really understood him and his commitment.”

Born in New Jersey, the US, to a Ghanaian father and Japanese mother, Suzuki spent his childhood in Saitama, just north of Tokyo. He joined the academy of Urawa Red Diamonds and progressed through the junior levels to eventually make his first-team debut as a teenager. Manchester United’s interest was well established when they made their first bid in 2023, but Suzuki has always displayed a desire to follow his instincts.

Playing at the World Cup was always a huge ambition which he fulfilled this summer, starting all four of Japan’s games at the World Cup and starring in the defeat by Brazil in the last 32.

Since joining Villa, he has already made history. In September he became the first Japanese goalkeeper to play in the Champions League when he faced Club Bruges.

Staff at Villa say he always has a smile on his face. He has fitted in well and is a popular member of the dressing room. On Tuesday he will be presented with arguably his toughest Villa test so far, when his team face Barcelona at the Nou Camp in the Champions League – but nobody expects him to buckle.

His coach at Parma, Nicola Pavarini, says: “He can become one of the best goalkeepers in the world. I have no doubts about that.

“The game has evolved and it is more important now for a goalkeeper to have the qualities Zion has. He offers a team so many opportunities with his passing. We are still very close and I sent him a message after the Manchester City game to say ‘congratulations’. There is no limit to what he can achieve.”

Indeed so. Villa and Suzuki are going places.