Aston Villa: Arsenal wanted to sign Ben Broggio before contract news emerged on Villa Park ace
Arsenal were looking into signing Ben Broggio before he penned his first professional contract at Aston Villa, according to Dan Bardell.
Villa announced on their website on 2 February that the 17-year-old attacking midfielder had penned a deal with the club after impressing for the U-21s side this season.
Villans academy manager Mark Harrison said he is delighted that the England youth international has committed his future to the club and that he is looking forward to seeing him continue his development.
Bardell has been left thrilled by the news surrounding Broggio as he compared him to former Villa Park favourite Jack Grealish due to him possessing similar attributes to the England international.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “He signed his new deal and he does sound like an exciting player. I’ve heard murmurs that Arsenal were looking at him at one point, so to get him signed down to a new contract is a big thing.
“He’s made the step up to U-21s football this season at a really young age. He’s made an impact in those games, scored goals and got assists. Not many 17-year-olds come in and make that step up into the U-21s.
“I know that he’s trained with the first team a number of times despite not being involved with the first team yet. He’s been asked on pretty much a weekly basis to train in the 11-a-side games with the first team.
“That’s a good sign and it’s good management as well to get him involved with the first team, so he can see that there’s a pathway for him at Villa. From the attacking young players, I think (Omari) Kellyman will be the next player to get a go and come through in terms of academy, but I don’t think Broggio will be far behind from what I’ve heard.
“He sounds like he’s a really exciting player. I’m not saying he’s going to be as good as Grealish, but he has similar attributes and plays the same kind of role.
“It will be interesting to see how he develops, whether he goes out on loan at some point. But I think his aim for the rest of the season is to do as much as he can training with the first team and just see if he can get himself a place on the bench and get himself involved with the first-team squad.
“But as I said, Arsenal to my knowledge were sniffing around him, so it’s good to get him tied up.”
Ben Broggio contract shows pathway for Aston Villa youngsters
It’s important for Villa to tie down some of their talented youngsters as they could prove to be the stars of the future at Villa Park.
Broggio is clearly highly thought of by the club and first-team manager Unai Emery as Bardell revealed that he’s trained with the first team on a number of occasions.
If he can prove to be anywhere near as good as Grealish was for the Villans, then they could have an excellent player on their hands.
In other Aston Villa news, a journalist has shared the likelihood of Emery joining Liverpool.
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