Aston Villa share Aidan Borland transfer news as decision made on former Celtic gem
Aston Villa have confirmed that youngster Aidan Borland has signed his first professional contract with the club.
The highly rated midfielder joined the Villans from Celtic last August and has featured regularly for the Under-21s side this campaign.
Borland has done enough across his 13 Premier League 2 outings to earn himself a new deal, as confirmed on the club’s website [29 April].
Aston Villa bring in Aidan Borland from Celtic
Now aged 17, Borland was considered a possible star of the future while at Celtic but opted to leave for a club south of the border.
Despite plenty of interest, Villa won the race for his signature and that piece of business can now be considered a masterstroke.
Borland has already earned comparisons with John McGinn, who himself was a Scotland youth international in his younger days.
Speaking to the Villa website, academy boss Mark Harrison said: “We’ve been really pleased with his progress which has seen him become a regular in our U21 team at the age of 16.
“He is an intelligent, hard-working, technically efficient midfielder with the ability to score from long range. We look forward to working with him over the next few years and seeing how he progresses.”
Unai Emery happy to give Aston Villa youth a chance
Given he is already catching the eye for Villa’s U21s side having only recently turned 17, it may not be long before Unai Emery takes a look at the teenager.
Emery has showed he is not afraid to give some younger players a chance, and that is very much what Borland will be targeting in the next stage of his development.
A loan exit is another possibility, with Villa now having some flexibility in what they do thanks to this contract being signed.
Celtic fans will be watching on wondering what might have been, but it is something they are accustomed to now as the likes of Ben Doak and Rory Mahady have also left in recent times.
That is not to say Borland has achieved anything yet, as such, but the early signs are hugely encouraging. Should he continue to show the drive that he has over the past eight months, there is no reason why he cannot be challenging for a first-team place in the next 12 months.
The future is bright for Villa not just at senior level, but also in terms of the age-grade squads.
In other Aston Villa news, Don Goodman has warned the Villans they face an “impossible” task regarding Ollie Watkins.
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