Aston Villa coach blown away by teenager who joined just weeks ago

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Declan Frith is making a big impact at Aston Villa, with Premier League 2 coach Mark Delaney hailing the impact of a former West Brom winger while speaking to Villa’s official website. 

Talk about an immediate impact.

Just three days after being unveiled by Aston Villa in mid-October, Frith marked his debut as a permanent member of Delaney’s squad with two well-taken goals in a narrow victory over local neighbours Birmingham City.

A match-winning brace? In the Midlands derby? Not a bad way to kick off life at a new club, we’re sure you’ll agree.

In total, Frith has scored twice and provided a further two assists in just four Villa appearances.

Delaney is in no mood to let the 19-year-old rest on his laurels, however, insisting that Frith can still improve his productivity in the final third.

Is Declan Frith the latest up-and-coming Aston Villa star?

“He’s got the ability to create and score goals, so we’re pushing him to up his assists and his goal ratio,” said Delaney, the former Wales international who played over 150 Premier League games as a right-back for Aston Villa. 

“He’s settled in really, really well. We’ve been really pleased with him. The first part was a trial scenario and, in the games he played, we saw something in him.

“He has a really good character – he wants to learn, he wants to get better and he scored a couple of goals on Saturday (against Birmingham), which is what we’ve been asking of him.”

Frith, who enjoyed a brief spell at Chelsea recently, is one of a number of Aston Villa youngsters who arrived at Bodymoor Heath having honed their talents four miles down the A41 at West Bromwich Albion.

Strikers Louie Barry and Brad Young also came off the Baggies’ production line while Tim Iroegbunam – West Brom’s 2021 Academy Player of the Year – followed in their footsteps during the summer transfer window.

Aston Villa, FA Youth Cup winners last season, have scored 24 goals in just eight Premier League 2 games this season, including an 8-0 thrashing of Stoke City.