Aston Villa have confirmed that talented youngster Aidan Borland has signed a new contract to keep him with the club for the long-term future.
The 18-year-old midfielder arrived from Celtic in August 2023, and he has since gone on to impress at youth level in a Villa shirt, having become a mainstay in the U21s side.
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Borland has also featured at senior level, albeit briefly in our Carabao Cup encounter with Wycombe Wanderers earlier in this campaign, and so he’s already made a positive impression and is perhaps on Unai Emery’s radar with a long-term view in mind.
As per the club’s statement, the Scottish midfielder has now put pen-to-paper on a new long-term deal, and time will tell how his future plays out with us.
Naturally, as with any young talent that comes through the ranks within the club, it’s hoped that he can continue to develop and improve, and eventually make a breakthrough in the first-team squad.
That said, we’ve also seen how we’ve had to adopt a transfer strategy which involves selling our top prospects to help balance our books with PSR in mind, but ultimately the objective is the same for all concerned and that’s seeing talents like Borland develop and flourish to set up a big career ahead.
Having captained the Villa U21s to our recent FA Youth Cup success, he’s also shown leadership and character on the pitch, and so the signs are certainly promising that he’s capable of having a bright future.
“We are delighted to see Aidan sign a new long-term contract,” Academy Manager Mark Harrison said. “This is well deserved and a recognition of his development since he joined us.
“Aidan is an intelligent central midfield player who is technically proficient and tactically astute. He has been a regular in our under-21s and under-19 UEFA Youth League and FA Youth Cup teams, captaining on many occasions, which is a reflection of his leadership skills and maturity on and off the pitch. He has also represented Scotland at under-19 international level this season.”
At 18 years of age, it will be interesting to see what the plan is from Villa with managing Borland’s development, as he’ll likely be lined up for a loan at some point, and it’s hoped that it proves to be an ideal landing spot for him to enjoy a prominent role, and test himself at a higher level to showcase his potential.
