When Andre Green broke onto the scene at Aston Villa, there was no questioning that those within the inner circle at the club thought they had an absolute gem on their hands.

The winger made his debut for Villa as a 17-year-old under then-manager Remi Garde, coming on for half an hour in a 2-0 Premier League defeat to Tottenham in 2016.

The Birmingham Mail revealed at the time that Green was being "seen as one of the club’s most talented youngsters", but sadly for both him and the club, things just didn't work out.

After making just 48 appearances for Villa, the now 22-year-old was released by his boyhood club last summer, and he went a good six months without finding a new home before eventually being signed by Championship outfit Sheffield Wednesday.

Former Villa boss Tim Sherwood has openly admitted that he's been left stunned by how things have gone for Green, and insisted that had he been at the helm for longer, it may have worked out differently.

He said: "I love Andre and I’m very surprised. He’s got ridiculous pace and goes past people like Ronaldo used to. It’s as if they’re not there. He’s got great ability but has been unfortunate with a few injuries. Hopefully, he can get over them. Players do in the end."

Sherwood added: "If I’d have had longer in the job, he would have played. He could go at players and score goals but just needed to play men’s football and step up. He was ready for the step up.

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"I was looking at him to start the 2015-16 season and then he got injured in pre-season, in Portugal in our training camp, so it was devastating for the boy. It’s just an unfortunate sliding-doors moment that I went and someone else came in and never valued the talent he had."

As Sherwood says, injuries certainly haven't been helpful to Green, but Villa surely could have done more in getting the best out of his enormous talent and potential. The club seriously dropped the ball with the £900,000-rated winger.

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