Youngster Delfouneso to play key role for Villa

Aston Villa are set to unleash their latest academy prospect in tomorrow’s UEFA Cup match against Zilina, with manager Martin O’Neill convinced striker Nathan Delfouneso has the talent to make a major impact.

The likes of frontmen Darius Vassell – now with Manchester City – and Gabriel Agbonlahor have come through the ranks at Bodymoor Heath and both have gone on to play for England.

Now 17-year-old forward Delfouneso, who is still eligible for the Villa youth team, is set to play a key role in tomorrow’s encounter with the Slovakian outfit at Villa Park.

The absence of the injured John Carew and the likelihood of Agbonlahor being rested have opened the door for Delfouneso, who could partner Marlon Harewood with Villa needing a point to guarantee their place in the last 32.

O’Neill said: “It will be exciting for us to see Nathan in action. I want to see what he is capable of doing.

“He has got an awful lot of natural ability. Obviously, the last thing you want to do is go and build someone up for the sake of it.

“But there is a lot of excitement about him and the way he plays. He is a genuine threat. He can go past players and is getting stronger and even in the last year I have seen a big difference in him.

“He already trains with the first team for 85% of the time so I don’t think he will be overawed on Thursday.

“But, even if he doesn’t get a kick in this game, I’ve got a lot of confidence in him for the future.”

Zilina coach Dusan Radolsky, meanwhile, insists his team will not arrive at Villa Park just to make up the numbers despite being bottom of the group with one point from the opening three games.

He said: “We are expecting our team will perform well as in previous games in the UEFA Cup. We respect the power of Aston Villa but we are determined to try and get a good result and play well.

“We want to try and defend as well as attack. We will see what Villa allow us and what kind of game they want to play.

“The players are excited about playing here. You want to play hard against tough opponents such as this and in those games with Ajax and Hamburg earlier in the group we actually played well and did not score goals.

“We want to play in a similar way but this time put the chances away.”