17yo Nigerian midfielder makes senior debut for Aston Villa in win against Wycombe Wanderers

Talented Nigerian midfielder Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba made his senior debut for Aston Villa on Tuesday night, coming off the bench in the closing minutes as the Premier League side defeated Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 in the third round of the Carabao Cup, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.

Aged 17 years and 358 days, Jimoh-Aloba replaced Emiliano Buendía in the 90th minute, with Aston Villa leading by two goals.

He profited from the decision of manager Unai Emery to rest his key players as the Spaniard made ten changes to his side.

Technically an U18 player, Jimoh-Alaba features regularly for Aston Villa's development squad and has impressed for the age group, having tallied ten goal involvements in seventeen appearances combined in the Premier League 2 and EFL Trophy.

in February 2024, he was nominated for the Premier League 2 Player of the Month but missed out on the award to Tottenham Hotspur forward Will Lankshear.

Emiliano Buendía headed Aston Villa into the lead nine minutes into the second half and the in-form Jhon Durán, making a rare start for the visitors, doubled the advantage from the penalty spot in the 85th minute.

With seconds to play, Richard Kone finished into the bottom corner to half the deficit but Wycombe ran out of time to grab an equalizer.  

Jimoh-Aloba joined Aston Villa's Academy in August 2023 after leaving West Bromwich Albion, and put pen to paper on his first professional contract with The Lions two months later.

Aston Villa pulled off a massive transfer coup to land the services of Jimoh-Aloba, fending off competition from top clubs like Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City.
 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: avfc.co.uk

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