With a certain Harvey Barnes coming to town, Matty Cash could hardly have picked a worse time to go down with a hamstring injury.
As if a Premier League clash with an in-form Leicester City wasn’t daunting enough, Aston Villa will now face the division’s most electrifying winger without their first-choice right-back.
And Cash’s absence has left Villa boss Dean Smith with a dilemma.
Does he go with experience or exuberance, a tried and tested veteran or a budding youngster desperate to impress?
The Birmingham Mail reports teenager Kaine Kesler should be included in the match-day squad on Sunday.
But whether he makes it into a Premier League XI for the first time – at the expense of 33-year-old Ahmed Elmohamady – remains to be seen.
Kesler won’t be overawed if he’s thrown in at the deep end against the ravenous Barnes, however. At just 18, this natural-born leader is already captain of Villa’s U23 side and stood out as a team of kids lost 4-1 to Mo Salah’s Liverpool in the FA Cup third round.
He has the beating of Elmohamady in the pace department too. Against Barnes, a bit of extra speed wouldn’t go amiss.
Here’s what some Villa fans on Twitter thought of the right-back conundrum:
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
