It’s been a lively week for Aston Villa fans and we have seen a subtle change in our transfer policy following the arrival of 28-year-old Lucas Digne, and prior to him, 29-year-old Philippe Coutinho – but clearly the club are still keeping one eye on the future and we’ve added another talent to our improving Academy set up in the shape of Kerr Smith, Seb Revan has headed back out on loan and Tyreik Wright has returned on what was a busy Friday for the club.
🦁 We can confirm that @DUFCAcademy graduate Kerr Smith has joined Premier League side @AVFCOfficial for an undisclosed fee.
Everyone at the Club would like to extend our congratulations and best wishes to Kerr and his family for the future 💪#UnitedTogether
— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) January 14, 2022
The 17-year-old defender comes in from Scottish Premiership side Dundee United and the deal is subject to international clearance. Having been with his former side since the age of seven, he made his debut for them last February and has so far racked up 12 first team appearances despite his tender age. He also featured for Scotland’s Under 19 side last November.
Speaking to the Official Site as his capture was confirmed, Academy Manager Mark Harrison explained that Smith had been someone we had been tracking for a ‘long time’ and his first team experience already did feature in our decision to finally make an offer. I dare to say Michael Beale may also have had some involvement.
“He has lots of potential but has already gained some fantastic experiences at first-team level with Dundee United, which is rare for a 17-year-old. We are really excited to see how he develops and hopefully one day we will see him become a regular in our first team. I would also like to thank Dundee United for the way they handled our approach and conducted themselves in the negotiations.”
I know nothing of Smith and I doubt I’m alone in not having seen him play, but given the calibre of youngster we have been bringing in as NSWE transform our Academy set up, in many ways, that will tell many just how highly we rate this lad.
On the Twitter thread linked above, it seems plenty of fans are sad to see him go but more than appreciate that even though the deal is officially undisclosed, for the reported up front £800,000 (potentially rising to £2million) fee was simply too good to turn down. Plenty were happy to wish him to best though.
For 17, he certainly has the basics nailed going off this.
As for Friday’s other main news, having been recalled from Grimsby Town the other day, 18-year-old Seb Revan has headed back out on loan but this time to National League North side Hereford Town, where hopefully his game time will dramatically improve now.
It’s a shame we didn’t send him back to a higher level given how rated he is within the club, but game time is game time.
Tyreik Wright also returned from his spell with League Two side Salford City. The Republic of Ireland Under 21 attacker made a total of 18 appearances for Salford, with eight of those being starts following his move back in August. I imagine he’ll also head back out in search of greater game time before January comes to an end.
