It now feels almost impossible to think that when Matty Cash first got in touch with the Polish FA about representing the country of his grandparents’ birth, the president of the organization at the time, Zbigniew Boniek, would end up giving the Aston Villa right-back short shrift. At least, Boniek wasn’t as keen on tapping into the Polish diaspora during his reign but that policy was to change when Cezary Kulesza was made president of the Polish FA in the summer of 2021.
In fact, it would only take a matter of months until Cash was given his debut following that change of tack when he came on as a substitute against Andorra in a World Cup qualifier in November 2021. Safe to say, the 24-year-old’s life has changed immeasurably over the last few months on both the international and domestic scenes. Cash could of course be heading to Qatar to play in his first World Cup as Poland contest the play-offs in March, and that could come on the back of a top ten finish in the Premier League with the latest football odds from Betfair pricing Aston Villa at just 6/5 to finish in the top half of the most competitive league in the world.
Indeed, anyone who studies the most recent betting tips for today’s matches will see that a lot is expected of Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa with his team predicted to rack up a hefty number of points during the back end of the season in order to secure a top-half finish.
With this in mind and encouragingly for Poland, the timing of Gerrard’s appointment at Villa Park will undoubtedly benefit the national team as Cash learns his trade under one of the finest midfielders to have ever played in the Premier League. You could probably even go as far as to say that when Poland meet Russia on the 24th of March in Moscow for a vital playoff match that Cash would have improved since the last time he played for the national team.
Let’s go Poland! ❤️🇵🇱 pic.twitter.com/4oZC8QqfeT
— Matty Cash (@mattycash622) November 8, 2021
You only need to look at Villa’s turnaround under Gerrard and the role that Cash has played during this time in order to get a better understanding of this. The right-back has always been present in the Villa XI since Dean Smith’s sacking and his attacking prowess has come on leaps and bounds as Gerrard encourages him to get forward whenever possible.Â
Notably, this hasn’t come at the expense of his defensive responsibilities and the 24-year-old has said as much during an exclusive interview with Sky Sports where he speaks about the way Gerrard has made Villa much harder to beat. Cash states that: “Defensively, the first job for me is to defend my goal, and to be strong and aggressive with it.”
It is this fierce protection of his goal coupled with his attacking abilities that prompted current reigning champions of Spain Atletico Madrid to try and sign Cash in the January transfer window. Ultimately, Diego Simeone was unsuccessful but the club have made it their top priority to sign the right-back in the summer of 2022.
“That’s how to score your first goal for #AVFC!” 🤩
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 18, 2021
Matty Cash puts the hosts ahead with a brilliant finish! 💥 pic.twitter.com/l3zB1pHTWN
It really has been an extraordinary rise in his career since late 2021 and as touched on briefly, Matty Cash’s professional life has changed beyond recognition over the last few months. Needless to say, Steven Gerrard has been instrumental in ensuring that the 24-year-old starts on the path to becoming the best right-back in Europe.