Aston Villa have announced that Lamare Bogarde has put pen to paper a new long-term contract with the club.
The 18-year-old has impressed at youth level for Villa over the past two years and has emerged as one of many stand-out talents coming through the Academy having been part of the team that won the FA Youth Cup last year.
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Albeit there is still a long way to go in his development and career at Villa, it’s a welcome boost that the club have confirmed, on their official site, that Bogarde has signed a new long-term contract to commit his future to the club.
Having previously trained with the first-team last season, Steven Gerrard will certainly be aware of another top talent coming through, and it will be interesting to see what decision is made on his future this summer.
Ultimately it comes down to two paths. The first being to stay at the club and continue to gain experience and improve with the U23s side, or alternatively, to loan him out and allow him to develop away from the spotlight at Villa and return a much better player for it.
Time will tell how the situation plays out, but Villa Academy Manager Mark Harrison was full of praise when speaking about Bogarde following the news of his new deal.
“It’s fantastic to see Lamare commit his future to Aston Villa,” told the club’s site. “We have been really pleased with the progress he has made and we see a lot of potential in him for the future.
“We are all looking forward to seeing how he develops.”
As we’ve seen with a number of top youngsters at the club over the past 12 months and more, Villa and Gerrard aren’t afraid to give them a chance at senior level if they prove that they deserve an opportunity, and so Bogarde, who can play either as a centre-half or a holding midfielder, will be desperate to follow suit sooner rather than later.
