Aston Villa open the 2024/25 campaign with a pre-season friendly against Walsall on Wednesday evening, where several young talents will hope to impress.
Unai Emery’s side are back in action on Wednesday evening for the first time since the conclusion of the 2023/24 campaign.
Aston Villa will battle Walsall in the first of their pre-season friendlies, before jetting off to Slovakia to face FC Spartak Trnava on Saturday.
Based on the players spotted in first-team training over the past week, the fixture could be the first chance for several youngsters to impress Emery ahead of next season.
Aston Villa youngsters to look out for in Walsall pre-season friendly
From the players spotted in training in the build-up to the fixture, eight have been identified as some of the club’s highly-rated young talents.
In defence, five players have been spotted training with the first team over the past week, including January singing Kosta Nedeljkovic.
Kosta Nedeljkovic
Signed from Villa in January, the 18-year-old remained at Red Star for the second half of the season before joining his new teammates this summer.
The right-back impressed last term in Serbia and will certainly be one to watch against Walsall, having secured Champions League experience at Red Star in 2023/24.
Kaine Kesler-Hayden
Having signed a new deal at Villa this summer, Kaine Kesler-Hayden will hope to impress the manager, starting in pre-season.
The right-back will be up against Nedeljkovic for game time over next term if he remains at Villa, having spent a part of 2023/24 on loan in the Championship at Plymouth Argyle before being recalled.
Sil Swinkels
Dutch centre-back Sil Swinkels could feature against Walsall after spending last season representing Villa in the Premier League 2.
It was a trialling campaign for the defender, who suffered a serious knee injury, seeing him out of action for a significant part of the year.
Having penned a new deal at the club earlier this year, it will be interesting to see how the 20-year-old approaches the opportunity to wow Emery in pre-season.
Josh Feeney
Fellow central defender Josh Feeney will also be eager to show his worth to the manager, after spending the second half of last season on loan at partner club Real Union.
The towering 19-year-old impressed last year in pre-season playing at the back for Villa and will hope to now kick on around the first team ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
Lino Sousa
Earlier this year, Villa signed Lino Sousa from Arsenal’s academy and immediately sent the 19-year-old on loan to Plymouth Argyle.
The left-back secured eight Championship appearances for the Pilgrims and has been linked with a loan move to Watford ahead of next term, as per Darren Witcoop.
As nothing has been concluded regarding his future, the former Arsenal starlet will hope to show his worth to Emery, with left-back being a position that could still be bolstered this summer.
Further forward, three players in attack and midfield could feature in some capacity against Walsall.
Aidan Borland
17-year-old Aidan Borland is one to watch this pre-season after Villa handed the Scotsman his first professional contract back in April.
The midfielder, who was described as “intelligent” by academy manager Mark Harrison, has already generated attention in the first team.
Villa captain John McGinn is clearly a fan of the teenager’s ability, having once posted about the starlet on X.
The 2007-born star was playing above his age group at times last season and was even spotted training with Emery’s first team in the latter stages of the campaign.
Kadan Young
Winger Kadan Young is another player who could feature against Walsall, having moved closer to being in Emery’s plans last term.
The teenager was named on the bench twice in the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League, as well as being named in Villa’s Premier League matchday squad by the manager.
It will be interesting to see the dynamic winger in action in pre-season, with the teen having a point to prove having made a positive step forward last campaign.
Cameron Archer
Another player who will be keen to impress Emery is Cameron Archer but for reasons aside from breaking into the first team.
The striker left the club last summer to join Sheffield United however, a relegation clause in his contract saw him return to Villa Park as the Blades finished bottom of the table.
With nothing concrete regarding the 22-year-old’s future, a strong pre-season could even see the forward work his way back into Emery’s first-team plans ahead of next term.
Unai Emery will look forward to assessing his players against Walsall
Walsall finished 11th in League Two last season and will very much look forward to being tested by Emery’s Champions League side.
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Most importantly, the game will allow the manager to assess the young players in his team against senior players of a lower level, which could indicate those who have the potential to play a part at Villa next campaign.
The game is set to kick off at 7:30 pm at the Bescot Stadium, which was home to both Walsall and Aston Villa Women during the 2023/24 campaign.
