Aston Villa's appeal to register Brian Madjo ahead of his 18th birthday currently hangs in the balance.

What's at stake?

The Villans paid around £10million to sign the starlet from Metz back in January, but are unable to use him until he turns 18 in January 2027. Former Villa chief executive Keith Wyness believes that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) may view it as a 'restraint on trade' for the 17-year-old if he is forced to continue to wait for his registration.

Why it matters for Aston Villa

Wyness has suggested that it is 'ridiculous' that the forward hasn't been allowed to play for his new club so far, and feels that the likely success of Villa's appeal is currently '50-50.' The Luxembourg international was born in England, but has been blocked from turning out for Villa by FIFA, who prohibit international transfers for U18 players.

Current context

As of 28 Jun 2026, Aston Villa are 4th in the Premier League, with 65 points from 38 games, and a recent form of WWDLL. Their last result was a 2-1 win over Manchester City on 2026-05-24. | Category | Value | | --- | --- | | League standing | 4th | | Goals this season | 56 scored, 49 conceded | | Title race | 20 points behind leaders Arsenal | | Recent form | 5W-0D-0L | The second city outfit are set to have their appeal heard by CAS on 1 July, in the hope that he could become available to Unai Emery for the start of 2026-27. Wyness argued that the success of the likes of Max Dowman and Rio Ngumoha means it is no longer a 'ridiculous argument' that such a young player could have a big chance to thrive. Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, he made it clear that Villa have become very frustrated with the situation. 'CAS could decide that this is a restraint of trade for the young kid. The fact that he's born in the UK doesn't really matter in the football sense, although I think it should do to some degree,' Wyness said. 'They'll have lots of examples now of 17-year-olds actually breaking into the Premier League and performing, so it's not a ridiculous argument anymore when you see Max Dowman and all the rest of them coming through.'