It is always great to see people who work hard and have dedicated themselves to Aston Villa be rewarded for their efforts. Jimmy Shan is coming off an incredible year with the under-18s. The Villa youth side achieved a treble. Shan will now be tasked with the challenge of building on and continuing that success at a higher level.
Josep Gombau is leaving Villa. The manager of the under-21, however, will be replaced by Shan. This development was initially reported by The Athletic's Jacob Tanswell on X.
The post also discussed how important it is for Unai Emery and Monchi to promote from within. This, too, should be seen as a positive aspect of the club's handling of one of the youth managers departing.
Oftentimes, favoritism and bias can play too heavy of a role. For the Spaniards in charge, they want to send a message that people can earn their spot within the club.
Shan has been at Villa since 2024. Already, he has done well and left a significant imprint on the younger levels. His promotion serves as an example of both how quickly someone can rise up in the ranks and how it is far from the aim of Monchi or Emery to simply replace a vacancy with someone they were already familiar with from Spain. This specific point was illustrated by Tanswell in a separate post.
Telling from Aston Villa decision-makers
A lot of times, in similar situations, the manager will fill the gap with a member of the contingency that traveled with him after initially signing with the club. This can then overlook someone qualified and who has proven themselves to be looking on the outside for an opportunity simply by virtue of not already having known the boss before.
It is nice to see that Emery and Monchi are conscientious of this and are purposely making a selection to reward someone who has earned their new role. Each situation, of course, is different. For the now-filled under-21 slot, it is safe to say the Villa did an excellent job of finding the right person for the job.