“He’s a big old boy,” said Tyrone Mings, while teammate Matty Cash opened with “he’s a beast”. It’s fair to say that it’s Brian Madjo’s size that first catches the eye.
At 6ft 4in and just 17 – he could technically get bigger – that’s clearly the first thing you notice about Aston Villa’s new striker, who has had to show remarkable patience to wait since his January move to the club from Metz for an actual chance to play.
After impressing in pre-season, Madjo started against PSG in the actual Super Cup after CAS ruled that FIFA could no longer prevent Madjo from playing.
FIFA had previously ruled that Under-18 players cannot complete international transfers, but Villa argued that since Madjo was born in London he should be exempt. Switching international allegiance from Luxembourg to England presumably helped his cause.
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Madjo was excellent against PSG and could have scored a hat-trick even before the goal that pulled Villa level against the European champions. That they then lost the game is almost forgotten in the excitement about Madjo.
“You’ve got a young player coming, especially on a stage like this one, against PSG, getting in those scoring positions and not allowing that disappointment to stay with you,” former Villa striker Dion Dublin told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I saw Brian Madjo, he had his hands on his head for a couple of seconds and then he got into another scoring position.
“He was brave enough to get back into that scoring position and if he keeps missing it’s not frightening him. He’s happy to have that pressure on his shoulders. I’ve been there, you need to be able to deal with it. At 17, he seems to be doing it easily.”
Villa boss Unai Emery was predictably less giddy because he is Unai Emery, saying: “He played because he was showing us his capacity to work and be demanding. It is not just about scoring goals, it’s about defending and how he has the commitment and discipline tactically. He was doing that.
“I wanted to play with young players and watch their progression. Brian started scoring goals against Walsall and Real Sociedad.
“Now the reality is we have shown their capacity, but they have to keep being consistent, demanding and keep performing at the level they were.”
It’s little wonder that Ollie Watkins apparently wanted to play despite only just returning from World Cup duty; he knows his status as Villa’s first-choice striker is under threat from both Madjo and any potential new striker.