if by "improved" you mean "is no longer desperate to show everyone just how super special he is so plays with more freedom, and being the recipient of advice on how every keeper he's gonna face acts when dealing with a striker" then yes, he has improved.
watching him for spain or against spanish teams and you see the real 'nando torres. that one you see in most games for liverpool is an illusion brought on by temporary confidence, slow-witted defenders, and stupid goalkeepers.
villa is ten times the goalscorer, zlatan and drogba are ten times the awe-inspiring force.
and essien would be utter utter failure for barca.
for starters he's not a DM, he's at his best going forward. so playing him in DM is a massive waste. there seems to be this growing notion that any black midfielder who can tackle is automatically a DM. it's not true with keita, and it's not true with essien.
and for seconds, he's a player lacking all manner of subtlety. he's jackson pollock, and we are picasso. he's andy warhol, we are rembrandt. he's banksy, we are gaugin. I mean, you get the point (I'd hope). we already have one un-subtle african, one who is content to not necessarily play every week and is left-footed which offsets the balance of our right-footed midfield. essien's better than keita, no question, but considering we use keita as an option, something essien wouldn't be because of fee and reputation, it doesn't work.
as usual, jordi, YAWRONG.
I voted for villa in the poll but arshavin is fast reminding me why I was desperate for us to sign him last summer. what a player.