Whether they’re poaching talent from other clubs or developing future stars, Aston Villa’s academy success is second to none.
The Villans have become renowned for giving youngsters a chance in the first team, most notably Jack Grealish, who was sold to Manchester City for £100 million in 2021.
Grealish isn’t the only success story to emerge over the past decade. Current star Jacob Ramsey has followed a similar path to stardom after debuting in 2019.
Despite Villa qualifying for the Champions League, Unai Emery hasn’t been afraid of throwing youngsters into the deep end, as he started 20-year-old Lamare Bogarde against Young Boys in September.
Emery also gave 17-year-old Ben Broggio his first-team debut in the win over Wycombe Wanderers, while starting highly-rated centre-back Sil Swinkels in that fixture.
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Aston Villa plan on loaning Sil Swinkels in January
Villa captured Swinkels from Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem in 2020 when the defender was just 16-years-old.
Now aged 20, the youngster has played a vital role for Aston Villa’s under-23 side having made 41 appearances since arriving at Villa Park.
Swinkels is highly thought of at Villa and has been named on the bench on three occasions in the Premier League this term, including in the win over Leicester City.
The next step for the Dutchman is to play regular first-team football and journalist Jacob Tanswell believes the ball-playing centre-back will be loaned out in January.
Comparing him to the elegant Pau Torres, Tanswell said on the 1874 Podcast: “I think for Sil Swinkels it’s pretty much nailed on that he will go on loan in January.
“I know Villa still rated him very highly, and you’ll see in the next few weeks them showing that long-term commitment to Swinkels.
“Villa really like him, they see him in a similar mould to Pau, in terms of he’s left-footed, quite tall, very well. He obviously played against Wycombe in that cup game and what was interesting, when he was going through that ACL injury for 12 months. He had a lot of bad luck, he also suffered a bad concussion before that and he was doing his rehab with the first team.
“He would do some analysis sessions with Emery’s coaches as well, basically to fast track him into knowing how Emery wants his centre backs to play.
“I think Swinkels is one you need to keep an eye on, he was highly rated when he signed and I think the exposure he’s got in the first part of the season in terms of being in and around the team on matchdays will serve him quite well.”
The other youngsters Aston Villa could loan out
Comparisons to Pau just show how the Dutch defender is thought of by those at Villa Park, as the Spaniard is arguably one of the Premier League’s best centre-backs.
Swinkels, meanwhile, isn’t the only player Villa should be looking to loan out in January, as one of Kosta Nedeljkovic or Bogarde could benefit from playing regular senior football.
Nedeljkovic is the more likely to be sent on loan, with Emery preferring to use Bogarde this term, but the Serbian is another gem destined for great things.
Fleet-footed winger Kadan Young is in a similar position to many current youngsters. The 18-year-old impressed in the win over Wycombe and came off the bench for 12 minutes in the Carabao Cup defeat to Crystal Palace.
Ultimately, though, Young would surely flourish being sent on loan in January and would come back an even better player.
