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Aston Villa youth star Omari Kellyman 'unlikely' to earn Premier League minutes but will 'dip his toe' in UECL
We’re delighted to welcome Sky Sports journalist Dan Bardell as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Omari Kellyman is “unlikely” to earn many Premier League minutes for Aston Villa this season but could thrive in the Europa Conference League, according to Dan Bardell.
The 17-year-old made his senior debut under Unai Emery in the second leg of their UECL qualifier against Hibernian (31 August) and earned himself an assist and a full 90 minutes as his side secured group stage progression in an 8-0 aggregate win.
Elsewhere, he remains an ever-present for the Villa youth side after earning five goals and five assists across 22 appearances in all competitions last season. He has almost eclipsed his goal haul from last season already, bagging four goals in two appearances in the Premier League 2 this season.
However, Bardell maintains that it is still too early for the youngster to earn minutes in the top flight but has tipped the Northern Ireland youth star to feature regularly in Aston Villa’s European clashes, as the level of competition will allow him to flourish.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “I wouldn’t expect to see him getting lots of Premier League football. The nature of Villa’s squad size means we will see him on the bench in the league, that will be something we’ll see on a fairly regular basis.
“But it’s those European games that will be key. Villa will play teams of a similar level to Hibernian. The teams we’ve drawn won’t be too dissimilar.
“It will be a chance to blood him and give him games and let him dip his toe in first-team football, but it’s unlikely he’ll play in the Premier League unless he suddenly starts having a huge impact in Europe.”
In other Aston Villa news, Fabrizio Romano has claimed that a forward is “closing in” on a move away from Villa Park.