It was announced last week that Aston Villa academy graduate Kadan Young had signed a new long-term contract with the club, and he could make his debut in Villa's Carabao Cup third-round tie away at Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday evening.
Who is Kadan Young?
Described by some as Jacob Ramsey 2.0, Young is an excellent talent. The 18-year-old has been raising eyebrows playing for the Villa under-21 side having scored three goals and registered eight assists in the Premier League 2. As a result of his performances, he has been rewarded this season with a place in the senior match day squad for the Premier League games against Everton and Wolves, as well as being on the bench for Villa's UEFA Champions League tie with BSC Young Boys.
Love this first touch by Kadan Young from today;
— The Next Wave (@_TheNextWave_) August 3, 2024
Out of feet but not too heavy - doing so w outside of foot is closer to running motion=better acceleration. Has the final ball to match.
In a strong performance by Villa, was their most potent.
pic.twitter.com/SxtUD8jPRs
Capable of playing on either flank or through the middle, the skilful forward has represented England at Under-18 level and is tipped to break into the senior national side one day. Young is known for his powerful and skilful running with the ball and has been compared to Kylian Mbappe's attacking style.
"He’s so quick and an out-and-out winger which you don’t see enough of nowadays. He’s got that Mbappe about him, where he’ll run, slow his man down, wanting the defender to stand still almost, then he’ll put the burners on."Young's former coach
Young did feature for Aston Villa in their mid-season tour in Dubai in 2022 during the break from domestic football for the FIFA World Cup. Young played well against Chelsea on that tour to show Unai Emery what he is all about and the talent he has. Despite having some injury problems when Emery first arrived at the club, the Spaniard has been keen to tie Young down to the club in the long-term and clearly sees huge potential in the winger.
Taking inspiration from Jacob Ramsey
Jacob Ramsey, born in Great Barr, is Aston Villa through and through having been with the club since a very early age. Since making his debut in 2019 aged just 18, Ramsey has developed into one of the Premier League's most exciting young talents and Kadan Young will be looking up to Ramsey as inspiration.
Ramsey has become a critical part of Unai Emery's team and played a huge part in Villa's qualification for the Europa Conference League in Emery's first season. Ramsey's campaign last year was severely hampered by injuries, which was unforatunate timing as he was being tipped by many to make England's squad for the European Championships.
The new season has brought a fresh start for Ramsey, now rid of any injury troubles and performing at the high level that he has previously shown. Having fulfilled his childhood dream of representing his boyhood club in the UEFA Champions League, he also scored a goal and posed a constant attacking threat to show everyone he means business this season.
His progress from academy star to first-team regular was signified even more during the summer transfer window, as Tottenham Hotspur had made several offers to sign him.
Kadan Young will no doubt be looking at Ramsey's current level and think that he is not a million miles away from it, and will be looking to follow the same journey from academy talent to first-team hero.
Unai Emery to make several changes
The Villa boss has confirmed that he will make a host of changes for Villa's trip to Wycombe. Having played three games in the last week, which included traveling to Switzerland for the Champions League, it was expected that Emery would rotate the squad to allow greater recovery time ahead of a busy October schedule.
"I am going to prepare a plan to win and get a good way in this competition in case we can get through three matches and get an opportunity to fight for a trophy."Unai Emery
A slightly weakened Aston Villa side, that may contain academy products like Young, should still have enough quality to beat a League One side. Should they do that, then Villa will quickly be looking ahead and considering whether they could indeed compete for the League Cup trophy, despite it being lower down on the list of priorities.
UTV