Aston Villa Academy: Kadan Young must not fall into same trap as Cameron Archer
Aston Villa returned to Premier League action on December 26, but their 3-1 defeat against Liverpool proved that Unai Emery has a lot of work to do.
The Spaniard got off to the perfect start at Villa Park with wins over Manchester United and Brighton, but they cannot be allowed to be paper over the cracks.
The Villa squad looks in great shape, with most of their big names, excluding Emiliano Martinez, available against Liverpool, although two names caught the eye on the bench – Kadan Young and Cameron Archer.
After shining over in Dubai, Young appears to be the next cab off the ranks at Villa Park.
Of course, Archer is not a new name, but in terms of getting on the pitch in the Premier League, he couldn’t be shinier, given that he has hardly been used.
The young striker has been on the bench 13 times in the Premier League this season, coming onto the pitch six times for a total of 44 minutes – no more than 10 minutes in a single game.
He has seven minutes of action to his name under Emery, who hasn’t exactly been giving minutes out to his younger players so far during his time at the club.
This may serve as a warning to Young.
Likely sitting next to Archer on the bench, as well as another academy product Filip Marschall, Young will have known that he was unlikely to get on the pitch.
The young left-winger got his first taste of a Premier League matchday squad though, and he needs to look no further than Archer to know that you may still be miles away from getting onto the pitch.
Why are Villa reluctant to use their younger players?
You look at the likes of Manchester City who have used Rico Lewis this year, and those further down such as Leeds United who seem to make up half of their squad with academy players.
Of course, your transfer work and bringing in big names helps move the club forward, but sooner rather than later, these young players will want to move away.
Let’s hope that Young isn’t one of those.
In other Aston Villa news, The day Villa went berserk at the Bridge: Eight goals, two penalties, and three sent off in 2007 bonanza