18-year-old goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo is the latest promising youngster to be put through his paces by Dean Smith as Aston Villa prepare to resume their Premier League season tonight, according to the Birmingham Mail.
With ten games to cram in between now and the end of July, Villa’s squad is set to be stretched to it’s limit over the next six weeks or so.
So Smith, a coach famed for putting trust in unproven youngsters, might have to shuffle his pack with the risk of injury and fatigue higher than ever after an enforced three-month break.
The likes of Aaron Ramsey, Mungo Bridge, Jamie Searle and Louie Barry will be hoping to make their first team debuts before the end of the campaign.
And with five substitutes permitted and a host of midweek games to play, expect to be introduced to some new faces during once ‘Project Re-start’ gets underway
Whether Finnish youngster Sinisalo makes an appearance remains to be seen, however.
As a goalkeeper, you would think that he is far less likely than Barry (below), Ramsey and Bridge to be thrown in at the deep end.
Then again, Pepe Reina, number one since January, is set to return to AC Milan unless a loan extension can be agreed between now and the end of June.
The injured Tom Heaton will play no part either, while Jed Steer has endured fitness problems of his own in recent months.
So do not rule out the prospect of Sinisalo making the bench at least. He is certainly very highly regarded within the walls of Bodymoor Heath.
“He’s very calm when he’s stepped in and doesn’t look out of place,” goalkeeping coach Neil Cutler, who believes Sinisalo is one of the best 18-year-old’s in Europe, told Villa TV.
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