Championship outfit Aston Villa are looking around for a centre-back but the answer could be right under Steve Bruce’s nose.
Jacob Bedeau could be the real deal.
The teenage centre-back might have been just 17 years of age when Aston Villa plucked him from Bury for £900,000 in 2017 but that does not mean his signing was not a real coup. After all, there were scouts from 27 different clubs in attendance to watch Bedeau before Aston Villa snatched his signature, as reported by the Birmingham Mail.
And though the powerful defender is yet to make his first-team bow for Villa, a series of standout displays at youth level suggests he will make the step up sooner rather than later.
Bedeau is starting regularly for Kevin MacDonald’s U23 side at the age of 18 and has even captained the team too. And Villa fans clearly think Bedeau has a big future.
The question is, however, is now the time for Bedeau to be given his chance? With only one senior centre-back on Aston Villa’s books and with Steve Bruce scoruing the market for veteran free agents, the door is certainly open for the youngster to force his way into the manager’s plans.
Andre Green and Keinan Davis became established first-team players under Bruce last season so why not Bedeau?
He would be a long-term solution as opposed to signing the likes of John Terry, who will cost £60,000-a-week in wages according to the Daily Star and will turn 38 in December.
It would be a risk to throw Bedeau in at the deep end – but he has shown throughout his short career that age is just a number.
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