Following a €12 million transfer from FC Metz to Aston Villa in January, the former Luxembourg international is yet to kick a ball for the Premier League high flyers.
The Athletic has reported that this is not due to Unai Emery’s lack of faith in the 17-year-old but down to a FIFA ruling which has meant he has not even represented the youth sides.
Despite Madjo being born in England, the fact that he signed from abroad and is under 18 means he is not eligible to register as stated in Article 19 of FIFA’s rules which prohibits international transfers of players who are not of legal age. This came into place in 2020 when Britain left the European Union.
Once dubbed the next Romelu Lukaku, the rising star currently finds himself in limbo. He resorted to social media to share his frustration, where he reposted a story of himself with the caption “free my dawg”. His last competitive match was on 7 December 2025 for Metz against Auxerre. His last competitive goal came for England U17s where he netted twice against Sweden u17s.
Aston Villa’s first team only have two out-and-out strikers in Ollie Watkins and Tammy Abraham, hence the youngster likely feels he would be able to at least challenge for a place.
Although he is not yet registered, he has been training with the first team and is likely part of Emery’s plans for the future.
He turns 18 in January 2027 which is a long time to not be playing competitive football. An early hurdle in the youngster’s professional career.
