The Aston Villa Under-21s, formerly known as Aston Villa Reserves and Aston Villa Under-23s, are the most senior youth development team of

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

and compete in Premier League 2 (Division 2) of the

Professional Development League The Professional Development League is a system of youth association football, football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the The Football Association, Footbal ...

, the Premier League Cup and the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

in the 2022–23 season. The team plays its home games at Aston Villa's training ground, Bodymoor Heath and occasionally

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway stations ...

. Aston Villa also have an academy side that competes in the Under-18 division of the Professional Development League, the U18 Premier League Cup and the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

annually, most recently winning the latter trophy in the 2020-21 season. They also field a youth side in the

Birmingham Senior Cup The Birmingham Senior Cup is a football competition for Birmingham County FA club teams, organised by the Birmingham County Football Association. It began in 1876 and is the oldest county cup competition still active. The Birmingham Senior Cup is ...

annually. The team were part of the

FA Premier Reserve League The Premier Reserve League (officially known as The Barclays Premier Reserve League for English football sponsorship, sponsorship reasons) was the reserve team league for the top English association football, football teams in the Premier League. ...

since its foundation in 1999 and were winners of the 2011-12 Premier Reserve League South title, the last in that format. The side has been successful in recent decades, as well as becoming national champions in the 2003–04 and 2009–10 seasons, the team also won four out of five Southern Championships between 2007 and 2012, before the format changed to the Professional Development League. The side also won the

NextGen Series The NextGen Series was a European football club cup competition for under-19 footballers. It was designed to provide players with the opportunity to match themselves against other elite European footballers of their agegroup in a competitive envi ...

in 2013, a Europe-wide tournament for elite academies. Current senior squad players

Keinan Davis Keinan Vincent Joseph Davis (born 13 February 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Watford, on loan from Aston Villa. Following youth spells at Stevenage and Biggleswade Town he moved ...

Tim Iroegbunam Timothy Emeka Iroegbunam (born 30 June 2003) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Aston Villa. He is a product of the West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa academies. Career Youth career Iroegbunam played youth football i ...

Indiana Vassilev Indiana Denchev Vassilev ( bg, Индиана Денчев Василев; born February 16, 2001) is an American professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger for St. Louis City SC. He has represente ...

, Jacob Ramsey,

Cameron Archer Cameron Desmond Archer (born 9 December 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Aston Villa. Archer is a product of the Aston Villa Academy. He joined Aston Villa academy aged eight from local side Walsall ...

, and

Jaden Philogene-Bidace Jaden Philogene-Bidace (born 8 February 2002), known as Jaden Philogene, is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for EFL Championship side Cardiff City, on loan from Aston Villa. He is a product of the Aston Villa Academy and ...

all came through the youth system at the club. Notable former players to have come through the Villa academy include

Jack Grealish Jack Peter Grealish (born 10 September 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for club Manchester City and the England national team. Grealish joined Aston Villa at the age of six, and mad ...

Brian Little Brian Little (born 25 November 1953) is an English football manager and former player. As a player, Little was a striker who spent his entire career for Aston Villa in a career that spanned from 1971 to 1980. He made 247 league appearances, ...

Gabriel Agbonlahor Gabriel Imuetinyan Agbonlahor (born 13 October 1986) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward; he mostly played as a central striker, but he was also capable of playing on the wing. He spent his entire professional ...

Ciaran Clark Ciaran Clark (born 26 September 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a central defender, central midfielder and left-back for Championship club Sheffield United, on loan from Premier League club Newcastle United and the Republic of I ...

Gary Cahill Gary James Cahill (born 19 December 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Cahill began his career playing for the AFC Dronfield youth system in Derbyshire. In 2000, he joined the Aston Villa Academy an ...

Gareth Barry Gareth Barry (born 23 February 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He made 653 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton and West Bromwich Albion, the highest number of ap ...

Thomas Hitzlsperger Thomas Hitzlsperger (born 5 April 1982) is a German director of football and former footballer who played as a midfielder. In February 2019, he was appointed Head of Sport of VfB Stuttgart and was subsequently promoted to CEO. In March 2022, he ...

Darius Vassell Darius Martin Clarke Vassell (born 13 June 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward for Aston Villa, Manchester City, Ankaragücü and Leicester City. Vassell began his career at his home town club Aston Villa ...

Craig Gardner Craig Gardner (born 25 November 1986) is an English professional football coach and former player who made 260 appearances in the Premier League and a further 67 in the Championship. He joined the coaching staff at Birmingham City in January 20 ...

Marc Albrighton Marc Kevin Albrighton (born 18 November 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or wing-back for Championship side West Bromwich Albion, on loan from Premier League club Leicester City. Albrighton joined Aston Vil ...

, Andre Green,

Andreas Weimann Andreas Weimann (; born 5 August 1991) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for club Bristol City and the Austria national team. Weimann was signed by Aston Villa as a sixteen-year-old from Rapid Vienna and ...

, and

Steven Davis Steven Davis (born 1 January 1985) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Rangers and captains the Northern Ireland national team. Davis made his full international debut in 2005 a ...

amongst many others. The U21 team is made up of players under the age of 21, although five over-age outfield players and an over-age goalkeeper may be named in a Premier League 2 match squad, these may include fringe first-team players and senior players recovering from injury.

History

The origins of the team date back to 1892, when ''Aston Villa Reserves'' joined the Birmingham & District League. After finishing in the runners-up position twice in the first 2 seasons of the competition, Villa finally won their first trophy in the 1894–95 season, winning 26 out of 30 league games and losing just once all season. Several titles followed after this achievement, including a run of 8 consecutive titles between 1902 and 1910. When Villa finally left the Birmingham & District League in 1915, they had accumulated a total of 12 league titles and 6 runners-up finishes. After that, the reserve team played in the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

for many years, becoming champions in 1929–30, 1963–64 and 1992–93. In 1999–2000, the

was set up, Villa were one of the founding members, and were split into the Northern section of the league. Three disappointing seasons followed, however in the 2003–04 season, inspired by brothers Stefan Moore and

Luke Moore Luke Isaacc Moore (born 13 February 1986) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Moore represented England at England U21 level and is the younger brother of former professional footballer Stefan Moore. Club ca ...

, Villa eased to their first title. In the two seasons which followed (2004–05 and 2005–06), Villa agonisingly finished both campaigns as runners-up, both times to

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. In the 2006–07 season, for the first time since its introduction, the

excluded Coca-Cola Championship teams from playing in the league, with the 20 senior

English Premiership The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

teams parallelling the teams involved in the

FA Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. This also meant that due to geographical circumstances, Aston Villa Reserves were switched from the Northern Division, to the Southern equivalent, for the first time since the start of the original format in 1999. Villa eventually finished 4th - winning 9 out of their 18 games, with

the top goalscorer, with 7. The season saw the impressive development of several youngsters, most notably including

Zoltán Stieber Zoltán Stieber (; born 16 October 1988) is a Hungarian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a winger (association football), winger or attacking midfielder for Újpest FC, Újpest. Having spent time in a number of Hungari ...

Shane Lowry Shane Lowry (born 2 April 1987) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. His notable achievements include winning the 2019 Open Championship, the Irish Open as an amateur in 2009, and the 2015 WGC-Bridg ...

and Stephen O'Halloran, all of which were rewarded with first-team opportunities in the pre-season fixtures, prior to the 2007–08 season. Inspired by Swedish striker

Tobias Mikaelsson Tobias Lars Mikaelsson (born 17 November 1988) is a Swedish footballer. He started his professional career with Aston Villa in England in 2007. After loan spells with Ljungskile and Port Vale, he signed with Swedish side Trollhättan in 2009. ...

, Aston Villa Reserves clinched the 2007–08 Southern title, their second regional success since the inception of the league in 1999. However, they were beaten 3–0 in the Play-Off Final by Northern champions Liverpool. In the 2008–09 season, the team went one better by securing their second consecutive Southern title, and then defeating Sunderland to claim their first ever national title, with goals from

Nathan Delfouneso Nathan Abayomi Delfouneso (born 2 February 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for League One club Accrington Stanley. Having graduated from Aston Villa's academy Delfouneso broke into their first team in 2008, m ...

, James Collins and

netted nine goals, to help Villa keep up their trend of securing the Southern title - their third consecutively - in the 2009–10 season. This included a remarkable 15-game unbeaten streak, running from the opening game of the campaign, all the way through to the last game of the season against Portsmouth. However, the club were denied a second consecutive national title, as they were beaten on penalties by Manchester United, after a 3–3 draw at Old Trafford. The 2010–11 season saw changes to the standard format of the league. Only 16 clubs competed, which meant a split between the top heavy Northern league. Undoubtedly the highlight of the season, was a 10–1 home victory over Arsenal at the Greene King Stadium, en route to finishing third in the league. Following changes arrived in the 2011–12 season. Three leagues were abolished, returning to two, whilst each team played the teams in their own league home and away. They also played each team in the regional league once, with home and away games split evenly. More success followed however, as Villa picked up another Southern title, with

scoring nine times during the course of the season. It was a case of deja vu however, as they were again beaten on penalties by

at Old Trafford. The

Premier Reserve League The Premier Reserve League (officially known as The Barclays Premier Reserve League for sponsorship reasons) was the reserve team league for the top English football teams in the Premier League. The league was split into a northern and a southern ...

was abolished during the summer of 2012, to make way for the Professional Development League 1. Aston Villa were one of 22 clubs to take part in the inaugural season, participating in Group 2 of the competition. During the 13-year tenure of the original Reserve system, Aston Villa were the second most successful club - behind

- with five regional titles and one national title. The youth sides currently play their home matches at

and Bodymoor Heath. From 2019, having been promoted back to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

, Aston Villa began fielding an under-21 side in the

against

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

and

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

opposition. In January 2021, after a

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...

outbreak in the first team, the youth team was used for a first team game against Liverpool in the FA cup 3rd round.

Aston Villa Under-21s

Squad

On loan

Reserve, U21 & U23 Honours

Birmingham & District League *Winners: **1894/95, 1895/96, 1899/00, 1902/03, 1903/04, 1904/05, 1905/06, 1906/07, 1907/08, 1908/09, 1909/10, 1911/12, 1959-60 (Division Two). *Runners-Up: **1892/93, 1893/94, 1897/98, 1898/99, 1900/01, 1910/11.

*Winners: **1879/80, 1881/82, 1882/83, 1883/84, 1884/85, 1887/88, 1888/89, 1889/90, 1890/91, 1895/96, 1898/99, 1902/03, 1903/04, 1905/06, 1907/08, 1908/09, 1909/10, 1911/12, 1984/85. *Runners-Up: **1875/76, 1880/81, 1892/93, 1894/95, 1900/01, 1901/02, 1923/24, 1982/83, 1994/95, 1995/96. FA Premier Reserve League North *Winners: **2003/04. *Runners-Up: **2004/05, 2005/06. FA Premier Reserve League South *Winners: **2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10, 2011/12 FA Premier League Cup *Winners: ** 2017/18

*Winners: **2008/09. *Runners-Up: **2007/08, 2009/10, 2011/12.

Aston Villa Academy

Aston Villa Academy is the youth development side of

team

, it fields an under-18s team in the U18 Professional Development League 1 (South Division). Until 2012 the team competed in Group B of the now defunct

FA Premier Academy League The Premier Academy League (sometimes abbreviated as FAPAL) was the top level of youth football in England before it was to be replaced by a new league proposed by the Elite Player Performance Plan in 2012, which was accepted by the 72 member c ...

. In the 2009/10 season Villa clinched top spot in Group B of the Premier Academy League, impressively notching the most wins (22), most points (68) and most goals (84) of all 41 clubs involved. Villa's youngsters were drawn against Group A winners

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the semi-final, which was won via a single strike from

. This subsequently meant a final against

winners

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, which was comprehensively won 2–0, with goals from James Collins and Chris Herd. The top scorers for the season were

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

striker James Collins (23),

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

striker

(16) and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

striker

(15).The 2008/09 season was less fruitful for Villa's youngsters, as they finished 3rd in Group B, and were knocked out of the

at the first hurdle, losing in the Third Round to eventual champions

. Villa's youth team has a strong history in the

with wins in 1972, 1980, 2002 and 2021. Villa also reached the semi-finals of the

in 2004, eventually being knocked out by eventual runners-up

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. The Aston Villa Academy played in both seasons of the now defunct

, a tournament for Europe's elite football academies between 2011 and 2013. The team was composed of under-18s with up to three under-19s in each matchday squad. Having made the quarter-finals in the 2011-12 Series, the academy side captained by

Samir Carruthers Samir Badre Carruthers (born 4 April 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for National League South side Dartford. He has represented the Republic of Ireland at U19 and U21 level. With over 160 football league appea ...

won the final of the 2012-13 tournament on 1 April 2013 beating

2–0, at the

Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia is a multi-use stadium in Como, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Como 1907. The stadium holds 13,602 people. The stadium was completed in 1927 and was built on precise ...

, in

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

, Italy. The team train at Bodymoor Heath in

North Warwickshire North Warwickshire is a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of Warwickshire, West Midlands, England. Outlying settlements in the borough include the two towns of Atherstone (where the council is based) and Co ...

and also play their home matches there on weekends.

Hong Kong Soccer Sevens

The yearly invitational seven-a-side Hong Kong Soccer Sevens tournament brings together leading youth sides from around the world, and has brought notable success to Aston Villa's academy since 1999. A squad were fielded annually for the event. Villa have won the tournament five times, more than any other team. Villa won the third ''HK Soccer Sevens'' tournament in 2002, defeating

in the final, they went on to defend their title in 2004 (as the 2003 competition was cancelled due to the

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''sever ...

outbreak), inspired by Stephen Cooke and Steven Foley they clinched the trophy in the final against

. Striker

captained Villa to the semi-final in 2006 - losing to the eventual winners

Urawa Red Diamonds , colloquially Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, is a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J ...

- and also received the 'Player of the Tournament' accolade. Villa won the competition again in May 2010, beating

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Ma ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in the final. The most recent HK Soccer Sevens tournament came in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Academy squad

''Players not listed in the official squad are referenced individually.''

Academy honours

*Winners: ** 2012–13

*Winners: **

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, 2002, 2021 *Runners-Up: **

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

FA Premier Academy League U17s *Winners: **2003–04 FA Premier Academy League U18s: Group B *Winners: **2007–08 **2010–11 FA Premier Academy League U18s: Play-Offs *Winners: **2007–08 *Runners-Up: **2007

HKFC International Soccer Sevens The HKFC Soccer Sevens, formerly known as the International Soccer Sevens, is an annual invitational seven-a-side football tournament which is organised and hosted by Hong Kong Football Club. Held since 1999, many young professional players have m ...

*Winners: **2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2016

Non-playing staff

Corporate hierarchy

Reference:

Management hierarchy

Notable Academy Graduates

The following players have all been members of the Aston Villa academy for at least one full season and have either made at least one appearance for the first team in professional competition, have gone on to play for a fully professional team or have represented their national team. Players in bold are still contracted to the club.

2020s

2010s

2000s

1990s

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aston Villa F.C. Reserves And Academy Reserves and Academy Football academies in England Birmingham Combination Premier League International Cup NextGen series