Aston Villa forward set to join Manchester City after rejecting scholarship deal | OneFootball

Manchester City are set to recruit one of the most highly-regarded youth talents in English football, this time raiding Aston Villa this summer.

For Aston Villa, losing an elite prospect from their academy setup represents a significant blow to long-term development pipeline, with the Birmingham-based club having worked hard to establish clear pathways into Unai Emery’s senior squad.

However, the immense pull of Manchester City’s state-of-the-art facilities, paired with a proven track record of developing talent, has increasingly made the Etihad Stadium a preferred choice for the nation’s top teenage profiles looking to accelerate progression.

Man City set to lure Aston Villa prospect

Now, according to The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell, Aston Villa and England youth international Heaven Kilwa is expected to join City after rejecting a scholarship at the Villa Park club – the only player in his age group to turn down such terms to stay in the Midlands.

Kilwa is said to be ‘highly regarded’ in the industry and has featured for England’s Under-15 and Under-16 age groups, also stepping up into feature in Aston Villa’s Under-18s side on six occasions, and scoring twice in that time.

As part of the switch for the teenager, it is pointed out that Aston Villa will receive training compensation for Heaven Kilwa.

Man City’s immediate plans for Kilwa

Rather than facing immediate senior pressure, Heaven Kilwa will most likely initially integrate into Manchester City’s Under-18 squad, with a view to a rapid promotion into Oliver Reiss’ new-look Elite Development Squad setup.

As part of that, should his performances continue to impress on the training ground, Enzo Maresca may give the teenager opportunity to work within the first-team set-up at various points of the campaign.