At first there was the usual stuff: the wide smile, the guttural release, the punch of the air, teammates quickly on the scene to offer congratulations. But then the real celebration followed for the 17-year-old Brian Madjo. After scoring his first Aston Villa goal 45 minutes into an unforgettable debut, the teenager clasped his hands behind his back and then unlocked them with the kind of force he exhibited on the pitch.
After confirmation that the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) had upheld Villa’s appeal to register the 6ft 4in striker, the Madjo movement gathered pace. John McGinn and Amadou Onana responded to the club sharing the news on social media by posting “#freemadjo”. After Madjo shone in defeat in Salzburg, McGinn alluded to the painful and protracted waiting game.
He has the potential to be an unbelievable striker and he showed that.” For Madjo, it was a moment eight months in the making. Unai Emery, who pushed for his £10m signing from Metz, had been keen to unleash him towards the end of last season. It became apparent to staff across recent months that, such is Emery’s admiration of Madjo, it was unlikely the striker would be made available for loan like many of Villa’s other teenagers.
After all, Madjo was signed as a first-team player, joining on his 17th birthday after Emery asked his chief scout, Alberto Benito, to personally review Madjo at Metz, for whom, last August, he made his Ligue 1 debut aged 16 and 217 days. At the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg on Wednesday night, it was easy to see why Emery was so enthused by the imposing striker, who made his England Under-17s debut last September. He was never going to be flawless against Paris Saint-Germain but it was an evening when he picked holes in one of the best centre-back partnerships in the game.
Madjo’s raw power and attacking instincts ensured he gave Marquinhos and Willian Pacho a rough ride. Tyrone Mings has been there himself in training. He has got a very high ceiling.
He is very, very difficult to play against and I just hope that his goal fills him with confidence, and he can go on and contribute to the team. Clearly, mentally he is able to deal with setbacks. He missed a few chances and scored probably the hardest of them all.
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