‘He’s a big old boy’ – Tyrone Mings backs wonderkid Brian Madjo, 17, to put 100kg frame to good use in Premier League

TYRONE MINGS is backing teen star Brian Madjo to be a big hit for Aston Villa this season. And given the striker weighs the best part of 100kg – or 15 and a half stone – it is hard to argue with that. Brian Madjo scores his side’s equaliser against Paris Saint-Germain Credit: Getty The teenage wonderkid celebrates opening his Villa account Credit: Getty But Madjo showed in Villa’s Super Cup defeat to Paris Saint-Germain how he is much more than a classic target man. The 17-year-old took his goal superbly in the 2-1 loss and already has people touting him as the successor to England captain Harry Kane. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! Mings said: “Listen, obviously he is a tough person to defend against. “I think he is about 100kg. He is a big old boy. “But no, he has got a very high ceiling. He is very, very difficult to play against. “And I just hope that he takes his goal and it fills him with confidence, and he can go on and contribute to the team. “He said he was nervous, of course. He’s 17 and it’s a huge game. “But I did say to him, ‘You get an amazing opportunity as a striker to just have one good moment and it can change everything for you’. Most read in Football BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Tyrone Mings has tipped Madjo for a big future Credit: Getty “I’m so glad that after missing a couple of chances, he got that goal. “He’s a very humble lad. I think everybody wishes him all the very best and hopefully he can contribute in a big way for us on the pitch.” Wednesday was Madjo’s debut for Villa and he caught the PSG defenders by surprise. The teenager bullied the star centre-back pairing of Marquinhos and Willian Pacho, and another night could have had a hat-trick. But former England defender Mings knows how tough it is to face Madjo – and Kane for that matter – as the teenager has been in training with Villa since January. That was when the striker joined Unai Emery’s side from Metz, but registration issues halted his progress. Fifa do not allow players under the age of 18 to move abroad, barring some exceptions like within the European Union, so they stopped Villa from playing Madjo after his £10million move from Metz. The club eventually won an appeal via the Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this month, citing how the striker was born in Enfield – despite having three caps for Luxembourg in friendlies. Madjo has already impressed his Aston Villa team-mates Credit: Reuters The imposing young striker has played for England at youth level Credit: Alamy Madjo has since represented England at Under-17 level and naturally social media has already anointed him as the Three Lions’ answer when Kane hangs up his boots. And given the lack of top English strikers right now, the youngster should be eyeing the 2030 World Cup – and maybe even the home Euros two years before. Mings added: “He is a good lad, great lad. He has obviously had to be very patient until he could play. “So, I think that says a lot about his character. He is very young and very strong. Clearly, mentally he is able to deal with setbacks. “He missed a few chances and scored probably the hardest of them all. “But, yeah, a fantastic guy. I think you could see the reaction of everybody when he scored. “It shows just how much he deserved it and that we were willing him to do well. I am delighted for him. “He’s trained with us for a long time. So when he eventually got his chance to play, he was ready to play. “He knew our system, he knew how to press. I presume he watched a lot of Ollie Watkins and understood how we play.” Watkins missed the Super Cup after being given an extended break following the World Cup. Madjo will compete with him for minutes this season and Mings thinks the England striker will be a great role model, too. The Villa defender said: “I think the manager is big on what we do off the ball, probably more than what we do on the ball. “Oli’s a great person to watch, because of his work-rate and what he brings to the team. He’s got Tammy [Abraham], too. “That’s two very experienced strikers he has got in and around him. I’m sure he’ll learn a lot.” Comment now