Aston Villa complete transfer and offer midfielder ‘unbelievable opportunity’

Aston Villa have completed the signing of teenager Freddie Lawrie from Port Vale after the two clubs agreed a compensation package. Lawrie has been playing for Vale’s under-15s as a central midfielder and he had attracted the interest of many clubs, but it is with Villa where he’ll continue to develop.

The Lions have been very active on the academy front since the takeover of NSWE in 2018; plenty of players have been sourced from elsewhere and the staffing structure has been enhanced, too. There are players still very much on the cusp of the first team squad, including Omari Kellyman, who the club signed from Derby County last year.

Lawrie will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of a host of previous academy success stories at Villa; Jack Grealish, Aaron Ramsey, Cameron Archer and Carney Chukwuemeka have all moved elsewhere within the Premier League in recent years and Jacob Ramsey remains a key midfielder for Unai Emery.

Vale’s head of academy Will Ryder said: “This is an unbelievable opportunity for Freddie, he is now going to get the opportunity to go to a category one club and be in and around an Premier League environment as he continues his development.

“We’re extremely proud of Freddie and the way he has handled this whole process and has shown patience and professionalism beyond his years whilst we have been working through the correct protocols with the Premier League to ensure this move his successful for him.

“I’d like to thank Aston Villa, specifically Steve Hopcroft and Mark Harrison who made the conversations honest, open and transparent which meant it was all done in a positive manner which means a fair agreement for both clubs was reached. We’d like to wish Freddie all of the best with this move and we will be keeping an eye on his development over the years.”