The familiar signs came first: a broad grin, a roar of emotion, a raised fist and teammates rushing over to celebrate. Then 17-year-old Brian Madjo revealed the deeper meaning behind the moment. Having scored his first Aston Villa goal 45 minutes into a remarkable debut, he placed his hands behind his back before forcefully breaking them apart, echoing the power he had shown during the match. “No distractions, I’m free,” he later wrote on Instagram after receiving permission to represent Villa in a competitive fixture.
Once the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) approved Villa’s appeal to register the 6ft 4in forward, support for Madjo quickly grew. John McGinn and Amadou Onana replied to the announcement on social media with “#freemadjo”. Following Madjo’s impressive display in the defeat in Salzburg, McGinn reflected on the teenager’s long and difficult wait. “Brian has had a terrible year,” the Villa captain said. “A player born in England should be able to play in England. He has the potential to be an unbelievable striker and he showed that.”
Madjo had waited eight months for this opportunity. Unai Emery, who supported his £10m move from Metz, had hoped to use him during the closing stages of last season. Over recent months, staff became increasingly aware of how highly Emery rated the striker, making a loan move far less likely than it was for many of Villa’s other young players. Madjo had always been recruited with the senior squad in mind. He arrived on his 17th birthday after Emery asked chief scout Alberto Benito to personally assess him at Metz, where he had made his Ligue 1 debut the previous August at 16 years and 217 days old.
At the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg on Wednesday evening, Madjo demonstrated why Emery had been so eager to work with him. The powerful striker, who made his England Under-17 debut a year earlier, was not expected to deliver a perfect performance against Paris Saint-Germain. Even so, he repeatedly troubled one of football’s strongest central-defensive pairings. His natural strength and attacking awareness created a demanding night for Marquinhos and Willian Pacho.
Tyrone Mings already knew from training how difficult Madjo could be to contain. “He is a tough person to defend against,” Mings said. “I think he is about 100kg – he is a big old boy. He has got a very high ceiling. He is very, very difficult to play against and I just hope that his goal fills him with confidence, and he can go on and contribute to the team.
“He has obviously had to be very patient until he could play, so I think that says a lot about his character. Clearly, mentally he is able to deal with setbacks. He missed a few chances and scored probably the hardest of them all. He is a fantastic guy. I think you could see the reaction of everybody when he scored.”
Madjo also impressed when receiving and protecting the ball, using his considerable strength to resist Pacho before producing a powerful back-post volley. The finish made him the youngest goalscorer in the Super Cup, surpassing a record Patrick Kluivert had held for 30 years. Roughly a minute earlier, Madjo had overpowered Pacho before sending Emi Buendía through towards the PSG goal.
Villa fans had witnessed a similar display only a week earlier against Thai Premier League team BG Pathum United. After McGinn struck the crossbar and the ball dropped near the edge of the six-yard area, a defender tried to push Madjo aside while pursuing it. Instead, Madjo claimed possession and left his opponent down on all fours.
Before that match, Madjo had been prevented from playing for Villa because Fifa regulations classified his £10m January transfer from Metz as the movement of an “international minor”. Although born in Enfield, north London, to Cameroonian parents, he grew up in Luxembourg and has represented the country in friendly games. His father, Guy, previously played for Plymouth and Shrewsbury. Mings believes Madjo has benefited from studying Ollie Watkins, who has recorded at least 10 goals in each of the past six top-flight seasons and was due to return to training that week after an extended break.
“I think the manager is big on what we do off the ball, probably more than what we do on the ball,” Mings said. “Ollie’s a great person to watch, because of his work-rate and what he brings to the team. He’s got Tammy [Abraham], too – that’s two very experienced strikers he has got in and around him. I’m sure he’ll learn a lot.
“I had a few chats with him in the last 24 hours [before the game] in terms of what he’s about to go into and the experience. He said he was nervous, of course. He’s 17 and it’s a huge game. But I did say: ‘You get an amazing opportunity as a striker to just have one good moment and it can change everything for you.’ I’m so glad that after missing a couple of chances, he got that goal. He’s a very humble lad.”
Madjo was applauded off the field by Villa’s travelling fans when he was substituted after 72 minutes against PSG. His eventful performance produced 27 touches, six attempts and one unforgettable goal.
The previous few weeks had already been highly productive for Madjo. Before Wednesday’s match, João Pedro of Chelsea was the only Premier League player with more pre-season goals. Madjo will now look to add to his total of five.
Villa travelled to Düsseldorf at midday on Thursday ahead of their last friendly against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday. Their league season was then scheduled to begin away at Brighton the following Sunday. For Madjo, everything suggested that his journey was only beginning. “He’s so good,” said Villa defender Matty Cash. “All pre-season he has put his body around and scored goals.”
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