Aston Villa: Teenage starlet 'a Jack Grealish type' at Villa Park | OneFootball

Aston Villa prospect Ben Broggio has been compared to former captain Jack Grealish in terms of his play style, according to BirminghamLive reporter Ashley Preece.

The young midfielder is a highly rated prospect in the club’s already impressive academy set up.

Who is Broggio?

Broggio is a 15-year-old attacking midfielder who Aston Villa have particularly high hopes for.

The two-time England U16 midfielder is currently developing at the Villa academy, which has been regarded as one of the best youth set-ups in the country, and was backed up with the club’s 2021 FA Youth Cup triumph.

There have been a number of success stories from the club’s academy, with former star Grealish becoming a future captain of the club before a £100m move to Manchester City in the summer of 2021, whilst Carney Chukwuemeka has recently been sold to Chelsea for a fee reported to be £20m.

And Preece believes that Villa have high prospects for the young star, who will be aiming to follow in the footsteps of two of his predecessors.

What has Preece said about Broggio?

He told GIVEMESPORT: “Ben Broggio, is only 15 and plays for the England U16’s.

“He’s a bit of an attacking midfielder, a bit of a Jack Grealish type, dare I say it?

“Villa rave about him, and he qualifies for Italy as well.

“He’s got Italian parents or something.

“Big prospect then Broggio.”

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What next for Broggio and Villa’s academy?

Broggio has made a solid start to the season for the Aston Villa U18 side, scoring one goal in two appearances in the U18 Premier League, according to Transfermarkt.

However, the attacking midfielder is just one of many talents who can showcase how much potential the West Midlands outfit have in their youth ranks.

Two of the club’s biggest prospects are both playing on loan in the Championship at the time of writing, with 19-year-old’s Tim Iroegbunam and Aaron Ramsey both plying their trade at Queens Park Rangers and Norwich City respectively, with both players playing a role in the England U19 side winning the European U19 Championship earlier this year.

Preece’s academy update suggests that Villa could be saving themselves plenty of money in transfer fees in the future, if they are able to bring through the exciting talent that their academy undoubtedly possesses.

Alternatively, the club may be able to sell off their academy talents for sizeable fees as in the case of Chukwuemeka, making Villa’s youth set up as a potential model for success.