Villa offer glimpse into future despite friendly loss

This season will see a new version of Aston Villa under Unai Emery.

A 4-2 defeat to Real Sociedad on Tuesday will irritate their perfectionist head coach, but there is plenty of time for him to fine-tune the Europa League holders before the start of the new campaign.

With Brian Madjo, George Hemmings, Modou Cisse all likely to feature in the squad going forward there was still plenty to build on from the encounter against the La Liga side.

The display of teenage striker Madjo was one.

Villa are still awaiting the outcome of their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) as they try to register the England Under-17 international, who joined from Metz for £10m in January and does not turn 18 until January next year.

Under-18s cannot complete international transfers, but Villa have argued Madjo was born in London and should be exempt, despite having three caps for Luxembourg.

Fifa does allow some exemptions for minor players to make moves, including if a 16 or 17-year-old transfers within the European Union - something the UK is no longer part of.

At 6ft 4in, Madjo has already been compared to Belgium's Romelu Lukaku and his leveller to make it 2-2 after 56 minutes was simple enough but showed a predatory instinct.

He was a handful for Sociedad, with strength and power unsettling the visiting defenders and, with Ollie Watkins still on a break following England's World Cup campaign and Tammy Abraham returning from a shoulder issue, Madjo has the chance to impress.

While he cannot play in competitive games for Villa, it leaves the tantalising prospect of the hulking youngster being unleashed in the Premier League in the new year, or earlier if the club get their way.

They are still in the market for a striker - Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson remains a top target - but in Madjo they have someone Emery can refine quietly before his entrance into the spotlight.

There is still work to be done, though, and the Villa boss spent a large part of the first half talking to himself and then the bench, with hands on his hips or arms flailing.

Trying to get Madjo and 19-year-old midfielder Hemmings to listen to instructions appeared difficult with neither player following through on Emery's desire for them to pull wider.