Aston Villa add to their already impressive January transfer window with the addition of highly-rated Scottish centre-half Kerr Smith. Kerr Smith becomes the third signing for Aston Villa in the January transfer window. Villa have already captured Philippe Coutinho on loan from Barcelona and French left-back Lucas Digne from fellow Premier League club Everton.
The young centre-half made his senior debut for Dundee United against Steven Gerrard’s Rangers back in 2021. Reports suggest that Aston Villa paid a fee that could rise to £2million.
The 17-year-old will initially go into the Aston Villa’s under-23s side. However, it is likely that he will join Stevan Gerrard’s first-team training sessions alongside Josh Feeney, Tim Iroegbunam and Kaine Kesler-Hayden.
The Lion’s academy manager Mark Harrison talking about the acquisition of Kerr Smith said:
“We are delighted that Kerr has joined us, he is a player we have tracked and monitored for a long time.
“He has lots of potential but has already gained some fantastic experiences at first-team level with Dundee United, which is rare for a 17-year-old.
“We are really excited to see how he develops and hopefully one day we will see him become a regular in our first team.
“I would also like to thank Dundee United for the way they handled our approach and conducted themselves in the negotiations.”
Kerr Smith rise into the first team at Dundee United
The 17-year-old can feature both at centre back and full back. He made his first-team debut the day after his 16th birthday under former boss Micky Mellon. Smith made a total of 12 first-team appearances for Dundee United since his breakthrough into the first team last term. (stats via Transfermarkt)
The young defender has also been capped by Scotland at the Under-19 level. The 17-year-old has averaged 0.4 tackles and interceptions and 2.8 clearances per match in the Scottish Premiership this term. (stats via Whoscored)
A spokesman for Dundee United talking about Kerr Smith said:
“Dundee United can confirm 17-year-old Kerr Smith has joined Premier League side Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee.
“Everyone at Dundee United would like to extend our congratulations to Kerr. We wish him all the best for the future, and we will follow his career with pride. Kerr leaves as a shining example of the opportunity and development available for our young terrors.”
Smith seems to have a very high seeling and could be one to look out for in the upcoming years. He could make his Villa under-23 debut against West Brom on Monday.
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