Compelling and unexpected. Aston Villa’s Brian Madjo announces himself to the world

There are moments in football that are sudden and instantly compelling. You can feel it.

They are both intangible and tangible; an act of controversy, a stunning goal or striking individualism.

But there is also a rarefied category: The new kid on the block making an unexpected announcement to the world. Enter Brian Madjo.

The 17-year-old’s performance in Aston Villa’s 2-1 Super Cup defeat against Paris Saint-Germain was captivating for several reasons.

His talent is evident, but on his competitive debut for Villa he dominated arguably the best centre-back duo in world football. He’s as close as the modern game can get to an overnight star, making what happened on Wednesday so compelling.

These days it is seldom seen, with scouting resource and social media so prevalent, for the majority to be so unaware of the next young talent. Nothing and no one seems to spring up in football anymore. Yet, Madjo has just done that, all 6ft 4ins of him.

At 17 years and 212 days, he is the youngest player to feature in the Super Cup. It is not hyperbole to say Madjo — born in London to Cameroonian parents but who grew up in Luxembourg — could and should have scored four or five goals in the first half alone in what was his first taste of competitive football of any kind since December.

The banner Villa fans held aloft before kick-off read ‘Unleash the Lions’. In playing their teenage striker, few outside of the club’s immediate orbit had heard or seen before, Villa had done as much.

The England youth international headed wide and then over from John McGinn’s first two crosses, having been unmarked. He also, unfortunately, ceded possession to PSG’s counter-press, contributing to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s thunderous strike taking the lead.

Madjo then strode into the left channel, PSG’s central defenders scrambling back, only to end up curling his effort wide.

None of these potentially confidence-sapping passages fazed Madjo. Even with the missed chances, Madjo kept finding opportunities to score.

Brian Madjo was born in London to Cameroonian parents and grew up in Luxembourg (Kerstin Joensson / AFP via Getty Images)

Madjo initially peeled onto Marquinhos, captain for Brazil and PSG, from Villa goalkeeper Marco Bizot’s first long kick. An indication of Madjo’s physicality and danger, Marquinhos and his partner Willian Pacho, the bigger man, switched, with the latter marking the forward. Later on in the half, Marquinhos was tentative when Madjo was running at him, hesitating before wisdom decided against competing for a bouncing ball.

He has been described as a “physical monster” by club sources, but to contest and comprehensively dominate the defensive axis which formed the backbone of successive Champions League victories was stunning. Intoxicating, even. Madjo’s fourth effort left Pacho crashing to the floor as he hit the post.

PSG full-backs kept high and left their central defenders two-against-two. Madjo, therefore, was duelling against a single defender, sometimes two. Nothing seemed to stop him. This way of operating is not unfamiliar to PSG, yet in the first half especially, it seemed laced with risk every time Madjo marauded forward, ably supported by McGinn, George Hemmings and Emiliano Buendia.

One recruitment source at a leading Premier League side believed Villa took a gamble on signing Madjo, though equally acknowledged that if he could develop into a reliable goalscorer, he would prove supremely effective. His first half profligacy, at odds with his attacking threat, exemplified that notion.

At the fifth time of asking, what felt inevitable arrived. A third exquisite McGinn cross found Madjo at the back post. In defiance of Pacho’s tight hold, Madjo shrugged the Ecuador international, escaping behind and emphatically volleying into the roof of the net.

Brian Madjo celebrates scoring against PSG (EXPA/ Johann Groder / APA / AFP via Getty Images)

“I want to watch young players and watch them progressively,” said Emery in his post-match press conference. “Brian scored two goals against Walsall, one like today. He played because he was in pre-season showing his capacity to work in our idea. It’s not just scoring goals; it’s his defending, commitment, discipline.”

For those who had watched Madjo before, playing for FC Metz in Ligue 1, there have been examples of the teenager embracing battling against older players. One observer close to Villa’s dressing room previously remarked on being struck by a 16-year-old Madjo, noting how aggressive and strong he was against Lyon central defender Moussa Niakhate, a now 30-year-old who played every minute for Senegal at the recent World Cup.

Villa signed Madjo for £10million in January from FC Metz. He represented a first-team recruitment acquisition, and not under the umbrella of the emerging talent department — typically for players 19 or below. However, he could not play any competitive matches of any kind, at any level.

Article 19 within FIFA’s regulations prohibits international transfers of players under that age and this applied to Madjo, despite being born in Enfield, England.

Madjo would score in training matches 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. Emery’s desire to blood Madjo early was ultimately reflected in picking him to start ahead of Tammy Abraham, who the club are willing to listen to offers for, in Salzburg.

Villa were aware FIFA could reject Madjo’s registration at first, although sources close to the situation stated that the club’s lawyers were still confident such a ruling would be overturned on appeal, even if it took longer than hoped, much to the irritation of senior figures. The verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) came on August 4, eight days before the final, with Villa’s appeal upheld.

Villa sources were thrilled for a teenager who had become a hugely popular figure around the club and seemingly now among supporters. When the teams were read over the speakers before kick-off, Emery and Madjo received the loudest cheers.

Such attention and admiration will only elevate to new, unseen levels following a night where Madjo broke out into the wider footballing public.