El Ahmadi praises new Aston Villa signings

Villa were unlucky not to walk away with all three points at Anfield after a terrific performance that saw them claim a 2-2 draw.

Both Bertrand and Holt – signed on loan for the rest of the season from Chelsea and Wigan Athletic respectively – played a part and El Ahmadi has tipped them to make a big impact at the club.

"The new boys were excellent at Liverpool," the Moroccan told Aston Villa's official website.

"Bertrand is a top player. His quality speaks for itself. He played in the Champions League final for Chelsea.

"You could see his quality directly in the game. Everyone who watched him at Anfield saw how good he is. He looked very comfortable.

"And you must remember that he only trained with us the day before the match. He's still young too so for that age, he is very, very good and will only get better."

Striker Holt's switch from Wigan has linked him up with his former manager at Norwich City, Paul Lambert.

In Holt's 70 top-flight appearances for Norwich, he scored 23 goals, and his experience will be crucial according to El Ahmadi.

"Holt is very experienced and when he came on at Anfield he was very vocal and encouraging with the rest of the team, giving advice to the players on the pitch," he added.

"It's good to have lads like that in there. He has a real fighting spirit too. He's got a winning mentality.

"He was motivating us throughout his time on the pitch. We lost Gabby (Agbonlahor) but Holty came on and did very good for us."

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