The Brian Madjo pre-season stats that make Aston Villa's FIFA frustration even greater

Brian Madjo has been taking to pre-season like a duck to water for Aston Villa.

The 17-year-old forward has had to patiently wait to feature for Unai Emery's side with FIFA pointing towards Article 19.

Rulings dictate that players under the age of 18 cannot make an international transfer to immediately play in England.

Villa believe that because Madjo was born in London and has represented the England under-17s, he should be exempt.

Nonetheless, Madjo's appearances for the Luxembourg youth teams have complicated matters and his performances over pre-season will only increase frustration.

Villa News have exclusively revealed how Aston Villa could gain an advantage in their Madjo appeal, and they will want that outcome to be positive after the following statistics.

The two statistics that have made Brian Madjo stand out for Aston Villa so far

Luckily, pre-season friendly games are not overseen by FIFA, so Madjo is able to feature throughout the summer.

So far, he has made four appearances as the Villans prepare for the upcoming season.

Within those matches, Madjo has been thoroughly impressive and has scored at quite a fast rate.

Over the last four games, Madjo is averaging a goal for Aston Villa every 44 minutes.

Additionally, among Emery's squad, no player has more goal contributions than him, with both Emi Buendia and Luka Lynch tied with him on four.

Overall, the fact he has seamlessly slotted into life for the Villa Park side is both now a resounding positive and a frustrating situation.

His impact is impossible not to notice, but Villa could have no choice over the matter.

As Villa await the outcome of their appeal, if he is unable to feature for them, that frustration will only begin to increase further.

And he will not be able to make an appearance until 12 January 2027, when he turns 18.

The problem Unai Emery now faces after Brian Madjo's pre-season explosion

Momentum is everything in football, and unfortunately for Madjo, he may not be able to benefit from that fact.

Despite his strong form in pre-season, his final game for Villa until the new year could end up being on 15 August against Borussia Monchengladbach.

A FIFA decision on Madjo after Villa's appeal could take months, leaving the English youth striker in limbo heading into the new season.

Hopefully all works out as the signs in pre-season show that Villa have a gem on their hands.