During the mid-late 2000s, Aston Villa were a competitive force in the Premier League and were a perennial challenger for the European places and the domestic cup competitions.
They also had a talented crop of U21 players that stood toe-to-toe with the very best in English football at the time.
Villa’s youth team beat the likes of Rochdale, West Brom, Millwall, Fulham and Newcastle in a two-legged semi-final to reach the FA Youth Cup final against Chelsea.
In a well-fought contest, the two-legged final looked set to be heading to extra time with the tie level at 2-2 on aggregate before Conor Clifford’s strike seven minutes from time gave Chelsea the win.
How many of those Villa starlets went on to the first-team? We take a look at where they are now.
