Aston Villa are awaiting a decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) concerning the registration of teenage striker Brian Madjo. The club is appealing to register the England Under-17 international, who joined from Metz for £10m in January and will not turn 18 until January next year.
Under current rules, Under-18s cannot complete international transfers. However, Villa contend that Madjo should be exempt because he was born in London, despite having played three times for Luxembourg. FIFA allows some exemptions for minor players, including transfers within the European Union for 16 or 17-year-olds, a bloc the UK is no longer part of.
Madjo scored in Villa's 4-2 friendly defeat to Real Sociedad on Tuesday. While he cannot currently play in competitive matches for the club, his registration could allow him to feature in the Premier League from the new year, or potentially sooner if the appeal is successful.