Aston Villa have seen numerous players make their way through the club’s youth ranks to become Premier League regulars, such as Jacob Ramsey, Jack Grealish and Gareth Barry, among others.
In terms of the current crop of youngsters in the Midlands club’s academy ranks, journalist Ashley Preece has dropped a claim about one gem in particular who could be next in line to make the step up to the first team in the near future.
What’s the word?
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Preece said of 18-year-old left-back Ben Chrisene and his potential future with the Villans: “He’s on a long-term deal at Villa and Gerrard thinks highly of him.
“I think he is a future first-team left-back, if not next season. I think he could come back from his loan spell and really stake a claim next summer.
“Age is just a number, as Gerrard keeps saying, and he is one to watch. I’m really impressed with him.”
Chrisene’s Villa career so far
The teenager joined Villa’s under-18 squad from Exeter two years ago and has since gone on to make 38 appearances for the Midlands club across their under-18 and under-23 sides, chipping in with two goals and four assists in the process.
Chrisene has also made one senior appearance for the club, which came during their FA Cup third round clash against Liverpool in January 2021.
The defender is currently on loan with Scottish club Kilmarnock until the end of the season. With five Premiership appearances under his belt, the youngster has racked up the highest average of tackles per game (2.8) at Rugby Park and earned an overall performance rating of 6.64/10 from WhoScored, making him the fourth-highest rated outfield player at the club.
Taking these figures into account, as well as what Preece had to say about the player, Chrisene could be an exciting young prospect for Villa fans to potentially look out for in terms of following in the footsteps of Ramsey, Grealish, Barry et al in coming through the academy to become a first-team mainstay.
