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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Following Aston Villa’s 6-1 drubbing of League Two outfit Crewe Alexandra in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening, their former striker Darren Bent has claimed that he is excited by Keinan Davis, but describes the situation surrounding him as tough.
What’s he said?
Davis was one of the five goalscorers that netted in the 6-1 win, but it was only his fourth goal in a Villa shirt in 44 appearances, per Transfermarkt.
The 21-year-old made his debut in an FA Cup defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in 2017 and only managed to play seven matches under current Villa boss Dean Smith last season.
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Wesley was signed by the club for a record £22m this summer, so game time may be a rarity this season, but Bent would like to see a lot more of him.
He told Football Insider:
“You’d hope so, you’d like to think so. It’s tough.
“I’m always wanting youngsters to play but it’s tough when a team’s just been promoted in the Premier League, it’s a fine line between staying up and developing young players.
“Hopefully we’ll see a lot a more of him and hopefully at some stage, he can force his way into the team and the squad every week.”
Valuable backup
Although it may remain unlikely for Davis to cement his name as Villa’s leading man this season, his role and place amongst the squad shouldn’t be underestimated.
Smith only has two senior strikers at his disposal, one a summer arrival and the other a player that has injury doubts hanging over his head as Jonathan Kodjia hasn’t been seen recently due to an ankle problem.
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The Villa boss also wanted to keep hold of Davis for this coming campaign instead of letting him develop elsewhere, so surely he has plans for the young 6 foot 3 forward.
He’s still only 21 despite being around the first-team setup for around three seasons now, so it’s not as if he would be completely out of his depth.
After all, a goal against Crewe should certainly help his cause in the coming weeks.
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