Aston Villa rising star Kerr Smith can follow in footsteps of Gareth Barry with first-team exposure
Over the past decade, the biggest roadblock for academy players rising through the ranks at Aston Villa is the physicality of the Premier League, but one player who could be ready for this test is Kerr Smith.
The 18-year-old Scotsman completed a move to Villa Park from Dundee United in January 2022 and has since become one of the club’s most reliable performers at Bodymoor Heath.
Smith has already amassed 22 appearances for the Villa Under-21s as well as a further 12 outings for the Under-18s and now looks primed for a step up in quality.
The centre-back got a taste of first-team action when he was a teenager at Dundee United, making 12 appearances and drawing high praise from former manager Micky Mellon, who labelled him a “brilliant young player”.
These previous experiences of first-team football could well leave Smith ahead of the chasing pack, which includes Sil Swinkels and Josh Feeney, for recognition from Aston Villa manager Unai Emery.
If the Spaniard is looking for a player who can step into the first team at a young age and deal with the physicality of the Premier League, he needs to look no further than Smith.
Villa also have prior experience in handing the gauntlet to a young academy centre-back in Gareth Barry and shouldn’t hesitate to take a similar gamble again.
After a season playing with the reserves and academy sides, Barry was handed his first-team bow as a 17-year-old when coming on as a substitute in a 3-1 win against Sheffield United in 1998.
Barry started as a centre-back at Aston Villa before moving into the midfield as his career progressed and took to Premier League action like a duck to water.
There should certainly be no rush to throw Smith in at the deep end this term, especially considering Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa’s recent form, but Smith could be a realistic option to feature for the first-team next season.
Villa took a punt on Barry in 1998, and a similar gamble on Smith shouldn’t be frowned upon.
In other Aston Villa news, Alan Hutton has backed a potential game-changing attacking deal for a Premier League attacker.