ISM client Owen Asemota signs 1st professional contract with Aston Villa | OneFootball

The youth teams at Aston Villa have two excellent goalkeepers at the club. Most AVFC supporters have seen the heroics of Sam Proctor that saw the under-18s advance to the FA Youth Cup Final that will be played on May 3rd at Villa Park. There is another promising young talent at the position who continues to turn heads.

Represented by Integral Sports Management, Owen Asemota signed his first professional contract with Villa this week, as announced by the club. With increased playing time at the younger levels, he'll hope to earn continued progression up through the ranks and earn a selection on the named roster for the first team one day.

Until then, his promise and play with the U-18 team have impressed. He too is someone who has a knack for saving penalties. During the regular run of play, his length, athleticism, and shot-blocking instantly stand out. Feeling comfortable playing up the pitch and acting more as a sweeper keeper, his abilities and confidence made him someone that Villa needed to secure.

Most recently against Brighton, the keeper has stepped up on a number of occasions and kept his side in matches. This ability to consistently come up with stops and maintain his composure when one gets passed him shows how mature and well-developed he is for someone at his position for his age.

Looking forward to promising Aston Villa career

Since joining, from the Arsenal academy, Academy manager Mark Harrison has only had positive things to say about Asemota. The 16-year-old has been able to challenge himself and will look to improve as this year comes to a close. With his eventual sights set on the Aston Villa first team, prior stints with the younger Lions sides for England also serve as a form of motivation for the GK.

The under-18s travel to Tottenham next as they attempt to make up some ground and close the gap on some of the teams currently ahead of them in the standings. They currently sit in ninth with 35 points. This young Villan squad has impressively only allowed 29 goals so far, which is the third best in the league. This is, in large part, of course, due to how Asemota defends his net.