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Omari Kellyman blows pundit away after what he heard about Aston Villa wonderkid from behind the scenes
We’re delighted to welcome former Aston Villa full-back Alan Hutton as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Villa Park…
Alan Hutton is thrilled to hear Omari Kellyman is “making waves” in the Aston Villa youth set-up after making Unai Emery’s first-team squad numerous times this season.
Kellyman, 18, is being tipped for a big future and the young attacking midfielder was handed a senior debut in the 3-0 home win over Hibernian in the Europa Conference League in August.
He grabbed an assist in that game before coming off the bench for his second senior appearance in the Carabao Cup defeat to Everton on 27 September.
The Athletic reported on 18 October that those close to the Derby-born England Under-19 international “describe his progress over the past year as exceptional”.
Hutton is delighted to see his former club opening up a pathway for a generation of talented youngsters after learning about Kellyman’s development.
“There were a few youngsters who went away with the first team in pre-season and really shone,” Hutton told Villa News.
“This is what you want to see. You can look at most clubs and think, ‘we could do better in terms of youth’. We want to see these talented young players coming through.
“Aston Villa are really trying. They’ve made the training facilities better and are making a better pathway into the first team.
“It does, ultimately, take time but it’s good to hear there are people in the background making waves and pushing forward to the first team.
“Nowadays, it doesn’t matter how old you are, you see some really good youngsters coming through into the first teams and that inspires a lot of people to keep going and work hard.”
Kellyman is continuing to play for Villa’s Under-21s and has scored four goals in three Premier League 2 appearances this term so far.
The attacker, who can play in the midfield, on the wing or as a striker, was also named on Emery’s bench for Premier League clashes against Newcastle, Liverpool, Chelsea and West Ham.
In other Aston Villa news, the ball is in this player’s court after a reported behind-the-scenes bust-up with Unai Emery.