Unai Emery will be popping champagne as Aston Villa learn Brian Madjo result

Aston Villa have learnt the outcome of their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding Brian Madjo.

The 17-year-old striker signed for Villa in January, arriving from French side Metz.

Born in London and a citizen of the United Kingdom, he left England when he was young and was brought up in Luxembourg.

However, Madjo has been unable to play competitive football for Aston Villa due to FIFA's legislation limiting international transfers for players under the age of 18.

Due to being born in London, however, Villa have argued that these restrictions shouldn't apply to Madjo in this case.

And now, Unai Emery knows whether he can start playing him in competitive action this month, or whether he'll have to wait for 2027.

What have Aston Villa said about Brian Madjo appeal?

Madjo doesn't turn 18 until 12 January, meaning he could have missed the first half of the upcoming campaign.

However, that is no longer the case, as Aston Villa have announced on Tuesday that CAS have upheld their appeal.

This now means that he will be able to be registered as a senior Aston Villa player immediately, and is now eligible to play competitive football right away.

This will come as a huge relief to Villa, as with Ollie Watkins still recovering from his World Cup campaign and Tammy Abraham being nursed back to fitness after his shoulder surgery, Emery's striking options are very much limited right now.

So, when might Madjo make his competitive Villa debut now that he's free to play in meaningful matches?

Why Madjo's Aston Villa debut could be one to remember

The 2026-27 Premier League season doesn't get going for Aston Villa until 23 August with an away trip to Brighton.

However, Emery's men are in competitive action before then, and it takes place in Austria.

Paris Saint-Germain are awaiting Villa in the UEFA Super Cup final on 12 August, and so it's here that Madjo could be set to take his first competitive steps in a Villains shirt.

Watkins may well be back in the fold by then, but with Madjo having been playing in pre-season, the teenager may actually prove to be Emery's wisest choice to lead the line against the French giants.

Whatever the outcome of that game is, that would be some occasion for Madjo to make his competitive Villa debut in, and potentially set him up for a breakthrough season in the West Midlands.

So far in pre-season, Madjo has scored four goals, with two coming against Walsall, one against Real Sociedad and his latest being against Indonesia XI.

As per FotMob, he registered an expected goals (xG) on target of 0.53 per game in the 2025-26 Ligue 1 season, whilst also winning 60 per cent of his aerial duels and winning 1.72 fouls per 90.

In 157 minutes of Ligue 1 football, he took three shots on goal, took six touches in the opposition box and lost the ball three times.

He's raw, but rated extremely highly around Villa Park, and so fans will be delighted and desperate to see him play at the earliest possibility.