Aston Villa youngster Indiana Vassilev is banging on the club’s first-team door.

The 19-year-old began his career with the IMG Academy in Florida, but moved to Villa in 2018.

He has made 28 appearances in total for the U18s, scoring four goals and registering four assists, playing as a left winger, a right winger, an attacking midfielder and as a striker.

This season, though, he is carving out a niche as the club’s striker at U23 level.

Indeed, throughout this campaign, he has scored six goals in 22 Premier League 2 outings, while also registering two assists.

And it appears that his talent has not gone unnoticed.

In addition to that, he played ten minutes in the FA Cup against Fulham, and 16 minutes in the EFL Cup versus Leicester City.

Dean Smith, clearly, believes that Vassilev can make a major impact in the first-team and is slowly integrating him into the side.

He comes with rave reviews too, his former coach Rusty Scarborough once said:

"On the field, you know he’s out there, he’s a leader, people follow him. The technical aspect he’s developed at a young age so now he’s phenomenal on the ball, passing, dribbling, shooting, heading, receiving."

Red Herring or Real Hero: Only hardcore Villa fans will get all of them right....

It remains to be seen, of course, if his playing time will grow next season, particularly if Villa do fall into the Championship.

But he certainly appears to be ready; when the chance comes, he will surely take it.

Meanwhile, Villa are eyeing a genuinely pointless summer move!