Brian Madjo was one of six forward options for Aston Villa.

Other staff had watched him at Metz in the French top flight and in England’s youth groups, and while they expressed some admiration, they did not recommend him.

Manager Unai Emery thought differently.

Villa were in the market for a younger profile of striker following Jhon Duran’s departure a year earlier and had been tracking Madjo for some time. The teenager, a muscular and imposing presence, impressed Emery through clips of his displays.

There were some rough edges, understandably so ahead of turning 17 years of age in January, though he had major physical attributes and solid finishing ability. The possibility of refinement and his potential was significant. His physical profile, described by a recruitment figure, speaking on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to do so, was “amazing”.

Emery entrusted his chief scout, Alberto Benito, with the job of taking a deeper look.

Ordinarily, Adam Henshall heads up Villa’s head of emerging talent and loans, and because of his age Madjo would have fallen into that category. Although this is interpreted differently at every club, Villa view “emerging talent” as players who are 19 years of age or under.

The acquisition of Madjo, however, was a consequence of first-team scouting, rather than youth recruitment. He was to be signed with first-team ambitions rather than the emerging-talent group.

Aston Villa signed Brian Madjo from Ligue 1 side Metz in January (Pakawich Damrongkiattisak/Getty Images)

This was reflected in the size of the fee paid to Metz. The £10million Villa forked out on his 17th birthday in January took several close observers by surprise, who believed it was excessive, especially in an austere financial climate where Villa remained beholden to regulations regarding their spending.

If there was scepticism from some sources as to whether Madjo was worth as much, staff at the club knew by that point never to completely dismiss a player, particularly considering Emery’s track record of fostering considerable individual improvement. 

Paying £10million for a 17-year-old who had made his senior debut last August was a sign of the times and the strains of the market, whereby traditional centre-forwards are rare and, such is the demand, come at a premium. Stylistically, there is a dearth of strikers similar to Madjo, both in play-style but also, evidently, those possessing his towering frame.

Two Villa sources described Madjo as a “physical monster”; clearly so far advanced in his maturation — looking several years older than typical for somebody of his age — that it was a super-strength. Madjo is already 6ft 4in (193cm) tall with a filled-out frame, and has even more room to grow. It makes his addition to the ranks at Villa Park such a curious, potentially enthralling one.

Madjo eagle-eyed in front of goal 🦅 pic.twitter.com/GtRZj6Lz43

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) July 29, 2026

One recruitment source at a leading Premier League side believed the club took a gamble, but also acknowledged that if Madjo’s natural attributes, which would mean he would be likely sculpted into a target man, could be complemented by becoming a reliable goalscorer, he would prove supremely effective.

Another observer close to Villa’s dressing room remarked on watching Madjo when he was still 16 and being struck by how physically aggressive and strong he was up against Lyon central defender Moussa Niakhate, a now 30-year-old who played every minute for Senegal at the recent World Cup.

Despite his tender age — Madjo became Metz’s youngest ever first-team player when he made his debut against Strasbourg in August (at 16 years, 217 days), breaking a 51-year record — he was not overawed. Indeed, he appeared to relish those skirmishes with opponents up front.

Madjo arrived in Birmingham midway through January and started training under Emery in Villa’s first-team environment. He scored during training matches and in small-sided games, and was impressing several team-mates and coaching staff, sufficiently so that the manager wanted to include him in matchday squads throughout the second half of the season.

Internal feedback was unanimously glowing, citing not only Madjo’s obvious ability but overall approach. Staff and players warmed to him quickly, noting his attention to detail, his listening skills and how hard he worked at acclimatising to a new level of intensity and to Emery’s methods. 

Villa’s first-team dressing room is not for the faint-hearted. It is a serious, high-performance environment which can be ruthless. Yet Madjo was regarded as integrating very well, with an even-balanced temperament and players complimentary about him both on and off the pitch.

The one hitch was that he was not allowed to appear in official matches. Not for another year.

During the negotiations to sign him, some Villa staff had warned it was unlikely the striker would be able to play for them competitively until he was 18 — in January 2027 — with Article 19 within FIFA’s regulations prohibiting international transfers of players under that age. Villa believed they would find a way to navigate and solve the issue.

The Athletic broke the story in March that Madjo was ineligible to play after FIFA blocked Villa from completing his registration.

Madjo was born in Enfield, north London, but grew up in Luxembourg.

Something similar occurred in 2024, when Villa purchased academy player Ethan Amundsen-Day from FC Copenhagen. They had to wait until the Norway youth defender turned 18 to play him, even though he was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

Villa were aware FIFA may initially reject Madjo’s registration, but sources close to the situation stated that the club’s lawyers were still confident such a ruling would be overturned on appeal. 

Madjo, centre, made his senior debut in France as a 16-year-old (Arnaud Finistre/AFP via Getty Images)

Sources did admit frustration over the process to register the striker taking so long, with the appeal date being pushed back. They had wanted to get Madjo up to speed sooner. The player, too, was desperate to start being involved in any form of official matches, with FIFA rules prohibiting him from even participating in youth-level fixtures.

Eventually, as The Athletic reported in June, an appeal lodged with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was given a hearing date of July 1.

The Madjo case was slightly different to Amundsen-Day’s. There were nuances to the appeal.

Madjo holds a British passport. Born to Cameroonian parents, he is the son of former lower-league striker Guy Madjo, who played for clubs including Tranmere Rovers, Plymouth Argyle and Aldershot Town.

In January 2016, Guy Madjo was found guilty at Winchester Crown Court of sexually assaulting a woman in his home.

An arrest warrant had been issued by the court in May 2015, but the trial went ahead when he failed to return to the United Kingdom. During a previous hearing, the court was told Guy Madjo was in West Africa, reportedly playing for teams in Gabon. Guy Madjo had not returned to the UK and was sentenced in his absence to three and a half years.

Madjo has already scored four goals over this pre-season, which heightened the clamour for his involvement. There were few signs of rustiness, which is a testament to his approach to training during his half-year without any proper game action. 

Often, CAS verdicts are expected to be returned in a matter of days.

Following that hearing at the start of July, it took CAS until Tuesday, August 4, to confirm its decision to uphold Villa’s appeal, meaning Madjo would be eligible to play in competitive matches before his 18th birthday.

This delighted Villa sources, who hope he can help complement Emery’s attacking options this season — if the manager decides against sending him out on loan — and, more importantly, are thrilled for a teenager who had not been able to play competitively for six months and, in that time, has become a hugely popular figure around the club.

Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara posted “Free Madjo” on Instagram following the CAS verdict.

Madjo is young and raw, but filled with immense potential.

His story to get to this point has not been easy, nor straightforward, yet, like his play on the pitch, he has always battled through challenges.

Now, back in the country of his birth, it is hoped that CAS ruling can be the start of a long and successful career.

Need help with today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle? You’ve come to the right place.

Welcome to Connections: Sports Edition Coach — a spot to gather clues and discuss (and share) scores.

A quick public service announcement before we continue: The bottom of this article includes the answers — and hints — for the four categories. So if you want to solve the board hint-free, we recommend you play before continuing.

You can access today’s game here. And when you’re done, try out our limited-edition Connections: Soccer Edition for an extra challenge.

Today’s difficulty

Game No. 683’s difficulty: 3 out of 5

Connections: Sports Edition hints for Aug. 7, 2026

Scroll below for one answer in each of the four categories.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Yellow: RAKE

Green: SUMMIT

Blue: WEAPON

Purple: ROYAL

Connections: Sports Edition answers for Aug. 7, 2026

Scroll below for the full answers to each of the four categories.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Yellow

Grounds crew equipment: DRAG MAT, MOWER, RAKE, TARP

Green

Denver teams: AVALANCHE, BRONCOS, NUGGETS, SUMMIT

Blue

Famous classic basketball sneakers: AIR JORDAN, PUMP, QUESTION, WEAPON

Purple

Former NBA/ABA team names, minus the S: BOBCAT, CHAPARRAL, ROYAL, SUPERSONIC

What is Connections: Sports Edition?

Connections: Sports Edition is The Athletic’s first-ever game, a daily puzzle designed for players to find connections between 16 words on the game board.

The game’s objective is to group words or objects into four groups of four based on commonalities within each group as quickly as possible. Find the groups without making four mistakes. Each puzzle has exactly one solution, so watch out for words or items that seem to belong to multiple categories!

Category examples:
Sports ____ : Fan, Car, Bar, Radio
U.S. Summer Olympians: Biles, Phelps, Ledecky, Lyles

Each category group is assigned a color, revealed as you solve, ranging from straightforward (yellow) to medium (green) to challenging (blue) to tricky (purple).

Who creates the puzzles for Connections: Sports Edition?

That’s me! My name is Mark Cooper, and I create Connections: Sports Edition and work as a managing editor for college sports here at The Athletic. I was previously The Athletic’s managing editor for breaking news.

The next puzzle will be available at midnight in your time zone. Thanks for playing — and share your scores in the comments!