Aston Villa's 4-2 defeat to Real Sociedad gave Unai Emery another reminder that this season will be built on more than just senior experience. The headline was Brian Madjo, the teenager who scored twice and underlined why he is already being watched so closely.
Villa were also given a look at a new group of younger players before the campaign begins. George Hemmings and Modou Cisse were part of that picture, while some of the club's World Cup cohort did not feature.
Madjo again makes the difference
Madjo had already scored twice in Villa's friendly win against Walsall last week, and he followed that up on Tuesday by scoring the equaliser to make it 2-2 after 56 minutes against Real Sociedad. For a young striker, that is exactly the kind of impact that gets attention.
He is an England Under-17 international and has been compared to Romelu Lukaku, which tells you the physical profile Villa see in him. But for now, the bigger issue is not his ability. It is availability.
Why Madjo is not yet ready for competitive football
Madjo cannot play in competitive games for Aston Villa until the registration appeal is resolved or he turns 18 in January next year. Villa argue that he was born in London and should be exempt, despite his three caps for Luxembourg.
There is also a broader regulatory backdrop. Fifa allows some exemptions for minor players, including moves within the European Union, but the UK is no longer part of the European Union. That is why this case is still unresolved, even after Madjo's pre-season form has given Villa supporters something to think about.
A useful pre-season problem for Emery
Emery won his fifth Europa League title in May when Aston Villa beat Freiburg, and this friendly was another sign that he will be working with a different version of the squad this season. The result was a loss, but the performance still offered a clear positive in Madjo's emergence.
For Villa, that is the balance of pre-season: results matter less than clues. Tuesday's game provided one very obvious clue about Madjo, and a few more about the younger names trying to push into the conversation before the new campaign starts.
