Aston Villa complete signing of 17-year-old central defender from Bury

Aston Villa have completed a £600,000 signing for 17-year-old Bury defender Jacob Bedeau. The price, reported by Sky, is a bit of a shock given the fact that Bury reportedly rejected a £750,000 bid earlier this month. Nevertheless, even if the price is a bit higher than reported, Villa seem to have gotten their hands on a rising star.

Bedeau has had six starts at Bury this year, and was reportedly catching the eye of teams such as Manchester United, Manchester City, and Liverpool. According to a Birmingham Mail story, he had 27 different scouts watching him at one match. That’s not a guarantee of quality, but it’s certainly not a bad sign, either!

It seems unlikely that the defender will have too much of a role to play this season given the fact that Nathan Baker and James Chester have the central defense spots on lock. Nevertheless, if he can get some playing time, he has the potential to grow into a regular starter at Aston Villa.