Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports , former Aston Villa favourite Alan Hutton has hailed teenage sensation Brian Madjo and backed his old club to keep competing for Champions League football.
The former Scotland international has compared Madjo to a young Wayne Rooney , praised Villa 's display against Paris Saint-Germain , and urged the club to stand firm on Ezri Konsa unless Arsenal meet their valuation.
Hutton has also backed a loan move for Endrick , assessed whether Joao Palhinha can replace Youri Tielemans , and explained why he believes Unai Emery 's side are heading in the right direction with Aston Villa 2.0 .
Brian Madjo
What Does the Future Hold For Brian Madjo?
Brian Madjo is like Wayne Rooney when he came through. At 17, to be physically so ready for the Premier League , that's something you don't see very often. Aston Villa have been fighting to get him on the pitch playing in the Premier League , and they've gone through the Court of Arbitration for Sport , but seeing him in action against Paris Saint-Germain in the Super Cup , it's clear why.
You look at all the goals he's scored in pre-season, the bits and pieces we've seen this summer, and how he played against PSG , he is going to scare the life out of centre-backs in the Premier League once he's allowed to play. I'm telling you, he is so ready to get out there and dominate defenders at this moment in time. He's 17, and he bullied Pacho several times, and he could have scored a hat-trick against the reigning European champions, and the goal he did score was probably the hardest finish of the lot for him. That's a frightening thing to see from a 17-year-old, and he's still learning. This is only the start.
His movement is already very good, and he's going to be growing as a player under one of the best managers in world football, and I believe Unai Emery will know exactly how to get the best out of him. Look at him now at 17 and imagine how good he'll be at 23 or 24, and if he keeps going in the same way, what kind of player could he become? It's a very exciting time for Brian Madjo and Aston Villa .
Champions League Ambitions
Did Villa Show They Can Compete For the Champions League?
Aston Villa can take so many positives from their game against Paris Saint-Germain . When Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored that early goal, you feared the worst, but no, there was no problem. PSG had so many other big hitters on the pitch, and we've seen the floodgates open against other teams, but Villa held their own. They got back into the game. I thought they were set up really well and almost played more of a 4-4-2 to get the balls out wide and into the box to cause problems rather than try and fight a battle for midfield they were only ever going to lose.
Unai Emery is just such a meticulous manager in everything that he does. He spoke after the game about how they'd been preparing for that game for the four weeks leading up to it. Everything is done for a reason, and he knows exactly what he wants, and he has everyone singing from the same hymn sheet. They've lost some top-quality players this summer, but they've sold them for big money by the way, and they've replaced them well, so he'll go again. Their objective every year is top four, a good run deep into the Champions League , and possibly a cup win. That won't change because they've sold a few players. Not while Unai Emery is at the club.
Is Villa the Best Fit For Endrick on Loan?
Aston Villa would be a good move for Endrick . He's a young player, he's made a huge move to Real Madrid , and he went out on loan to Lyon last season. Villa would be the next step for him in his development if he were to come in on loan. Unai Emery gets the best out of players. They can offer him European football. I think it's a move he would enjoy as well, playing at Villa Park because the fans would really get behind him. They love a young, hungry player desperate to prove their worth.
The recruitment's been really good over the last few seasons for Villa , and I feel that a loan move for Endrick would be another massive tick in the box. Plus it helps the other forwards. There's been a lot of pressure on Ollie Watkins and, for a number of seasons, even with the signing of Tammy Abraham . To take some of that load off him would help, I think, and he'd be a great signing while Villa wait to unleash Brian Madjo on the Premier League .
Ezri Konsa
Should Villa Cash In on Ezri Konsa?
Aston Villa have got to stand firm on Ezri Konsa . Unless Arsenal can get to £60 million or £65 million, he's not leaving. He's seen as one of the leaders within there. And I believe Villa, year in, year out, are moving forward. They're going in the right direction. He's a player that's one of the first on the team sheet, and he's loved by the support. So why would you leave there? Okay, Arsenal are a big club, don't get me wrong, and they've won the league, and they'll be going for the Champions League ; they've got to the final and so on and so forth. But would you want to go there and think to yourself, I might not play every week when you're happy where you are? I don't know if you'd want to make that huge change to not play.
Would Konsa Give Up a Starting Role to Sit on the Arsenal Bench?
Gabriel and William Saliba are number one and number two. It's going to be very difficult for Ezri Konsa if he goes to Arsenal . If it were me, I'd have to look at all the variables with such a move. Is it right for me? Is it right for my family? Am I going to play that much? And that last one, for me, is the main thing. Am I going to be playing when I get there? And if the answer is no, you need to fight for your place with these guys in front of you. Good luck.
Ezri Konsa will have full belief in himself, and I'm sure he thinks he could go there and maybe push somebody else out the way and get into that team or wait for the opportunity to come up and believe he's good enough to take it. Ultimately, I still believe that no matter who they sign, Gabriel and Saliba are the centre-back partnership at Arsenal . If I was Konsa , I wouldn't be in any rush to upset everything for the sake of a move to Arsenal where I'm going to be a bench player when I can stay and be a starter for Aston Villa .
Midfield Options
Can Palhinha or Hojbjerg Replace Tielemans?
I like the look of Joao Palhinha for Aston Villa . He knows the Premier League . He was at Tottenham Hotspur last season and Fulham before that. He understands what the competition is all about. He'd still have to fight for his position, even with Youri Tielemans having left; that's the thing, because I do believe that Villa are strong in that area when everybody is back and fit, but of course Amadou Onana will still be out for a while.
Johan Manzambi is coming in, and he's a talented young midfielder, so what a player like Palhinha offers you is those added numbers to cope with the Champions League , the Premier League and going further in the cups. There is a lot of football to be played if Villa go on and have the season they want to have, and for that they'll need a big squad to compete. Joao Palhinha can be a solution there, more so than Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg .
Could City Spoil Villa's Plans if They Sell Rodri?
I don't think Manchester City would be interested in Joao Palhinha or Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg if they do sell Rodri . I don't think so anyway. Rodri is a brilliant footballer. He was one of the outstanding players at the World Cup . If you're losing a midfielder of that calibre, you need to replace him with a player of the same quality. Listen, in world football, it's not going to be easy to do that, but Manchester City will be scouring the market to find the next big thing, even if they can't find a like-for-like player right now. It's not about just trying to get another body in to make up the numbers.
Do Villa Have a Big Enough Squad For Their Objectives?
Looking at the Aston Villa squad, even with the players they've sold, it's not actually in bad condition for the season ahead. I think, like Lucas Digne leaving, they need to bring another left-back in, and they're certainly looking at their options there. They need reinforcements at right-back too, but they're doing the right thing by looking at wingers and players in the attacking areas first.
Johan Manzambi is a brilliant talent. He's excellent, can play box-to-box, carries the ball, scores goals, and he showed his quality at Freiburg and for Switzerland at the World Cup . He's exactly the right profile of player for what Villa needed. Joao Gomes is another one too, and he is only 25, so they've replaced the players they've sold really well to keep building for the future and develop Aston Villa 2.0 , if you want. I think they're a club heading in the right direction.
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