The ability to play in football matches has been the story of the last eight months for Aston Villa striker Brian Madjo.
The 17-year-old signed for Villa from Metz in January but his new club couldn’t register him. Despite being born in North London, Madjo is a full international for Luxembourg.
His registration was complicated as a result and it was ruled that Madjo could not be registered until he turns 18 next January.
Could Brian Madjo play for England?
Eagle-eyed fans will have noticed that Madjo did indeed play for Villa in Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup match against Paris Saint-Germain in Salzburg.
The back-to-back Champions League winners were clinical enough to come out on top despite being behind a fitter Villa in their pre-season schedule, but it was Madjo who hit the headlines by thrashing a volley past PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov despite the close attentions of Willian Pacho.
Thanks to Villa’s appeal, upheld late last month by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Madjo is now registered and active. His captain, John McGinn, believes he will be a ‘big player’ for the Europa League winners this season.
It doesn’t take much more than a glance in Madjo’s direction to see how literally true that will be, but his international eligibility is in the spotlight as a result of an eye-catching debut against the European champions.
Madjo is not a home-grown player. He was born in Enfield but played his junior football in Luxembourg before joining the youth set-up at Metz three years ago. He represented Luxembourg at international age levels and won three senior caps last year.
The teenager, who was also eligible for Cameroon, is qualified for England by birth and was able to change his international allegiance through FIFA’s one-time switch rules. Madjo has committed to England and quickly amassed nine caps – and four goals – for Liam Bramley’s under-17 side.
It’s premature to suggest that his international career will develop in any particular direction from here but Madjo is a player who backs his ability and has the physical presence to back it up, as PSG’s continent-leading defence learned in Salzburg on Wednesday.
“I know how to adapt because I’ve played in Luxembourg and in France, so I know what it’s like to change to another country,” he said on his arrival at Bodymoor Heath in January.
“On the pitch and off the pitch, that will really help me in Birmingham. Playing against senior teams helped me very much in every way: intensity, responsibility.
“It really helped me to be here because I know now what it’s like to be with experienced players. And I know how mature I am now because experienced players helped me.”
It’s easy to see why there’s such excitement about a player who has potentially 20 years ahead of him and yet already appears physically capable, but Madjo is 17 years old. He will need to be carefully managed, not only by Unai Emery but within the England set-up.