Brian Madjo twice headed wide as Aston Villa pushed hard for an equaliser against Paris Saint-Germain in Salzburg on Wednesday night.

The 17-year-old is no stranger to waiting. Madjo joined Villa from Metz in January but had been unable to feature. Although he is from London, the former Luxembourg international was unable to be registered until he turned 18.

During a pre-season campaign in which he has been involved regularly and found the net, Madjo was cleared to play after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a Villa appeal. He then made his long-awaited competitive debut in the UEFA Super Cup.

Madjo did eventually get his goal, overpowering one of Europe’s top defenders at the back post to power in John McGinn’s cross, but if you trace the move back one pass further, Villa’s biggest positive from the night becomes clear.

Midfielder George Hemmings, now 19, first emerged prominently last summer. Villa’s opening friendly was against Walsall at the Bescot Stadium, and Hemmings made an immediate impression.

He maintained that level throughout the summer and did so alongside different partners in the double pivot preferred by manager Unai Emery. While others were sent out on loan, the teenager stayed with the first team and went on to make four substitute appearances, including one start in the Europa League.

Hemmings found that start against Red Bull Salzburg difficult, but he has been used in a different role this summer and has impressed consistently. Friendlies can only tell you so much, but producing that level in a Super Cup match against PSG, the back-to-back Champions League winners, underlined in style how well he has adapted to Villa’s line of three attacking midfielders.

The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.

The former Nottingham Forest youngster reproduced against PSG everything he had been showing in his friendly outings. His shift further forward, mainly though not exclusively to the left wing, has opened up an entirely new range to his game.

Hemmings looks like a different player when he can push the ball out of his feet and drive into open space, which he did during the first half in Salzburg.

His combination play in the final third is more refined than anything he had previously shown from central midfield, and he also carries a goal threat. He came as close as anyone to scoring Villa’s second equaliser against PSG.

The teenager has also been deployed on the right this summer even with McGinn available, but it is clear that Emery now prefers him on the left, in the position that helped bring the best out of a revived Emi Buendia in 2025-26.

Buendia has now moved into the No. 10 role following the British transfer record sale of Morgan Rogers to Chelsea, but he played in the same manner he always has. It was Hemmings who drove at PSG, Hemmings who linked the play and Hemmings who, in the end, carried out much of the work that Rogers had previously provided, in both penalty areas and all across the pitch.

It remains uncertain what exactly is planned for Hemmings this season. The arrival of Switzerland international Johan Manzambi will influence how Villa set up their three behind the striker, and Hemmings is still behind the new arrival in terms of being fully ready for regular first-team football.

But whatever Emery’s plans may be, Hemmings’ increasingly familiar display may well have strengthened the manager’s belief in his gifted young players ahead of what is certain to be a demanding and hectic season.