Aston Villa youngster Callum O’Hare is name-checked by Dean Smith

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Aston Villa manager Dean Smith name-checked promising youngster Callum O’Hare after his recent performance for the Under-23s side.

The 20-year-old attacking midfielder scored twice at the beginning of the week, but ended up on the wrong end of a 5-2 scoreline against Newcastle.

O’Hare is a highly-rated talent at Villa Park, but has been a rarely-seen player since he made his senior debut back in 2017.

The academy prospect has just eight first-team appearances under his belt and is yet to be involved in the senior set-up this campaign.

But new Villa boss Smith was impressed with the playmaker’s recent display and admitted there is some real talent in the club’s youth

“Certainly Callum O’Hare caught the eye with his two goals. There’s some good young players there who work really hard,” Smith said, as quoted by the club’s official website.

Smith has arrived at Villa with a great reputation as a manager that will give youngsters an opportunity and also implement an attacking style of football.

That could certainly be good news for some of the academy players, but does O’Hare fit into that category and could he get first-team opportunities later down the line?

O’Hare is arguably the most equipped player to be drafted into the senior squad and it’s a little surprising he is yet to feature this season.

He is a technically gifted midfielder that could learn a lot from Jack Grealish and having him as his understudy in the first team could work a treat.

It’s certainly positive news for O’Hare that the senior boss saw him impress in a recent game and he can only continue trying to knock down the door.