Aston Villa news: Opinion – Mike Taylor on young players

Prit asked: Looking ahead to next season, who do you consider from our youth team and players on loan could breakthrough next season at Villa Park?

Mike said: The best-qualified at the moment would seem to be Enzo Barrenechea, one of the players Villa signed in the flurry of mid-summer transfers last year.

He is coming to the end of a second season in a major European league, and no doubt it has been a character-building one fighting to keep Valencia in the top tier in Spain.

On the other hand, midfield is quite a competitive area of the Villa squad. Potentially he could be at least an understudy for Boubacar Kamara, but it would be a challenge to get ahead of him.

Samuel Iling-Junior scored a Champions League goal for Bologna but did not feature much for them in the league. At least now, he is getting more playing time at Middlesbrough. It would be a big jump from there to become a first-team regular for Villa, but Morgan Rogers managed it.

If players on loan are not likely to make an immediate impact next season, though – and breaking into such a strong first-team squad is difficult, unless a big sale produces a vacancy – you could imagine Villa selling a few to create a little more room in the budget.

Kaine Kesler-Hayden is an interesting case – he is having a productive season with Preston, and at 22 has more than two years of regular Championship football behind him. But with Andres Garcia recently arrived in his position, is there still a route through for him at Villa?

Of the next wave, Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba’s progress this season is worth noting.

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