Aston Villa done deal as George Hemmings finalises terms at Villa Park
Aston Villa have announced that youngster George Hemmings has signed his first professional contract with the club.
The Villans confirmed via their official website on 5 April that the teenager had signed a deal after having “shone” since his arrival from Nottingham Forest.
The central midfielder, 17, only came in from Forest in January and according to The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell (5 April) the youngster, who is “highly rated in scouting circles”, had been unable to train throughout the first half of the season as the two clubs were “locked in talks”.
Academy manager Mark Harrison said of the latest news: “We are delighted to see George sign his first professional contract. Having joined us from Nottingham Forest, we are very pleased with how he has developed and settled into his new environment.
“He shows a lot of technical qualities with a very focused attitude that will hopefully one day see him develop into a first-team player. He needs to continue to work hard and we look forward to seeing how he develops over the next few years.”
Aston Villa tie up highly-rated midfield prospect
The under-18s player has clearly been impressing in a short time so getting him signed up to professional terms is a positive step for the club.
It comes shortly after more recent good news on the contract front in the youth team as they look to tie down former Rangers forward Rory Wilson.
Any properly functioning side needs to have a pipeline of talent developing behind the first team, so while the teenager may be a way off breaking into Unai Emery’s set up it perhaps won’t be a million miles away if he continues on his current trajectory.
If Villa spent the whole first-half of the season fighting to get a deal done for him with Forest they clearly have high hopes, so this next step probably shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
The first-team has had extensive investment in recent seasons, and is benefiting from the likes of Morgan Rogers and Jhon Duran who are both 21 and arrived in the past two January windows.
But it will be much more cost-effective if academy arrivals can develop in-house and then break through, so if Hemmings can make a step up and establish himself in the under-21s after his good work with the 18s he may get the chance to impress Emery sooner rather than later.
In other Aston Villa news, a key first-team ace has been talked up for a move away by Roy Keane live on Sky Sports.
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