Aston Villa Academy: Kadan Young leaves Marc Cucurella red-faced during fantastic cameo against Chelsea
Aston Villa starlet Kadan Young was rewarded for his impressive start to the Dubai training camp with a further 45 minutes of first-team football against Chelsea.
Unai Emery’s side ran away eventual 1-0 victors over The Blues thanks to a well-worked John McGinn goal, but the inclusion of the young winger was yet another sign of the Spaniard’s trust in the academy’s burgeoning talents.
Coming on for fellow academy prospect Arjan Raikhy at half-time, the 16-year-old showed terrific maturity and skill to mix it with opposition such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was 17 years his senior.
He was placed on the right-hand side of Villa’s midfield four by Emery, finding pockets of space, and showing good link-up play with Ashley Young during the match.
Facing up against £63million Chelsea summer signing Marc Cucurella, the youngster did come off second best on a couple of occasions but showed no lack of intent in taking the full-back on a regular basis.
His patience was rewarded in the 90th minute as he finally got the better of the Chelsea left-back as Young engaged him into a tackle before knocking the ball beyond him to the dead ball line and charging into the penalty box.
Although Cucurella caught up with the Villa star, he was eventually left red-faced on the floor as Young shrugged him to the floor with apparent ease, as he chopped back inside and fizzed a ball into the six-yard area.
The devious bit of trickery didn’t result in a goal-scoring opportunity, as no VIlla attackers could get on the end of the cross, but it highlighted what Emery sees in the youngster and why he is so well-touted within the academy setup.
Speaking to VillaTV about the unbelievable chance awarded to him by the Villa manager, Young said:
“It’s been an unbelievable experience just being around these top-level players. They’ve helped me settle in really well and I’m really enjoying the experience,” said the youngster.
“I’m learning so much, especially from the players in my position, just seeing how they work off the ball, how they work on the ball, and just taking as much as I can from these top-level players.
“I know at some point I’ll drop back down with the Under-21s or Under-18s, but this has given me motivation to keep going because I want to be here more regularly. It’s been a top experience and hopefully, there’s many more to come.”
With Villa set to return to Premier League action against Liverpool on Boxing Day, it is likely that Young will find himself playing youth-level football once against, with the Englishman having made two Premier League 2 appearances this season and a further three for the Under-18s.
And although Villa fans might not get another sight of the academy prospect on a first-team basis over the coming months, Young is certainly a player who Emery will be keeping extremely close tabs on.
In other Aston Villa news, Unai Emery must build his attack around Leon Bailey as they set themselves for the Premier League’s return.