Emery has an 18-year-old ‘absolute dream’ ready to be unleashed at Aston Villa in 2024 – opinion
Aston Villa have an ‘absolute dream’ in their academy who Unai Emery can unleash in 2024.
There’s something special about a club giving homegrown talent a chance to shine in the first-team and Aston Villa have benefitted from this strategy over the years.
Jack Grealish, of course, is the prime example.
He joined Villa’s academy at the age of six before going on to establish himself as one of the greatest players in the club’s history.
Now a treble-winner at Manchester City after joining for a British transfer record in 2021, the 28-year-old has paved the way for the next generation of stars aspiring to follow in his footsteps.
One of those is attacking midfielder Omari Kellyman, who was captured from League One side Derby County in March 2022.
Who is Omari Kellyman?
Kellyman was signed as a 16-year-old from Derby for a fee in the region of £600,000.
The talented youngster, who can play anywhere across attacking midfield, has been touted as the next diamond in Villa’s academy after progressing rapidly through the underage groups and earning chances in the first team.
When he arrived at the club in 2022, Kellyman regularly featured in the U18s and quickly established himself as an important part of the fabric having registered three goals and four assists in 19 appearances.
After showcasing his quality, he was moved up to the U21’s last term and has since plundered eight goals in 18 matches in the Premier League 2, with four of those strikes coming from just four matches this term.
Kellyman shows his talent in the first-team
Earlier on in the summer, Kellyman managed to convince Unai Emery to include him on their tour of the United States and as part of the first team this season.
Despite making his first Villa start in Europa Conference League qualifying in June – supplying an assist for Leon Bailey on the night – his participation in the competition was curbed.
He was omitted from the group-stage squad due to not being at Villa long enough to qualify as an academy graduate.
When he has made appearances in the first-team having also featured in the Carabao Cup clash against Everton in September, the 18-year-old has been showered with praise and rewarded for his talent.
Josh Butler, a recruitment manager at Derby, hailed him as an ‘absolute dream’ to work with, while Kellyman’s talent was honoured with a new long-term deal at Villa in November.
Although his progress has been curtailed by a hamstring injury that will keep him out of action next year, there is no doubt that he will earn more opportunities to impress Emery in the future.
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