Aston Villa face AZ Alkmaar on Thursday night in Europa Conference League action, and we think Unai Emery should start Omari Kellyman, here’s why.
18-year-old Omari Kellyman is one of the Aston Villa youngsters who is really knocking on the door of the first-team this season.
Kellyman was signed from Derby in 2022 and is full of confidence. Despite his young he is already eyeing an England call-up.
Impressive this season at both youth level and on his limited first team opportunities, we think he deserves a chance on Thursday in Holland.
Here are three reasons we would love to see it…
Kellyman has what it takes to be a regular
Kellyman is a special talent and Villa need to treat him as such, in order to encourage other talented youngsters to head to Villa Park.
Already embedded in the first-team for training and limited minutes in the Conference League playoffs, this could be the perfect game for him to take the next step.
In his display against Hibernian, he managed to grab an assist in the one performance. Given ample opportunity, he could be a first-team player this season.
Far too good for youth football now
At just 18-years-old, Kellyman has already proven himself far too good for the Premier League 2.
According to TransferMarkt, he has four goals in just three appearances in the league. This equating to him being involved in nearly a third of the teams goals.
In the EFL Trophy too, he has played one goal and scored one goal showing he needs a greater challenge than EFL sides.
Low risk, high reward to give him a start
The most prominent reason as to why Kellyman should be given the chance is that he would see Unai Emery create an instant option for himself, across multiple positions.
With Nicolo Zaniolo not exactly setting the world alight, Kellyman could only do better. This could also protect Jacob Ramsey and John McGinn from injury too.
Emery has already shown he trusts the youngster with inclusions in the Carabao Cup and the European playoffs, so why not continue that here.
We think he would be an instant hit.
