Ex-Aston Villa Scout shares ‘immense’ Lander Emery verdict after recent development
Villa News is delighted to welcome aboard our brilliant new columnist Bryan King, the former goalkeeper who spent over 10 years as a scout at Aston Villa and 28 years in total in first-team scouting roles. Bryan also spent six years on Tottenham’s recruitment team and eight years scouting at Everton…
Bryan King believes Lander Emery, son of manager Unai Emery, deserves his place at the club if he has worked for it.
The verdict comes after the goalkeeper was named on the bench for the Aston Villa Under-21 clash with Sutton Coldfield on Tuesday (9 January).
King likened the Emery situation to that of Romeo Beckham, son of David Beckham, who currently plays for Brentford B.
Speaking to Villa News, King said: “I suppose he is living with his family in England. And if he is a talent, then why not? It doesn’t matter whether he’s his father or not, if he is good enough and the staff think he’s good enough, then bring him in. It’s not only the manager. The manager has got to put it to the staff.
“It was the same last winter when I was in Portugal. I was watching the Atlantic Cup tournament and Romeo Beckham was playing for Brentford B. And of course everybody was saying the only reason is because of his father. But actually he worked hard, and Neil MacFarlane, the Under-21 coach, was pleased with him. Great attitude, no problems, works hard, does what he’s told.
“It puts immense pressure on the player, the same as Emery’s son. Your father is the manager, everybody is going to think ‘Oh he’s only in the club and playing for the Under-21s because his father is the manager.’
“Well, that shouldn’t apply and I don’t think it does apply. I think he’s treated like any other player. Emery is not the only person who said ‘okay, let’s bring him in.’
“There’s nothing about luck with it because your dad’s the manager. If you haven’t got the ability, you can have all the luck in the world, and you aren’t going anywhere. But the player seems to have settled down and worked hard by the sound of it.”
In other Aston Villa news, Fabrizio Romano has shared an update on Villa and Leonardo Spinazzola, with a Roma exit now expected.