This article, originally published on August 7, has been updated after Brian Madjo’s performance against PSG in the Super Cup.Brian Madjo was one of six forward options for Aston Villa.Other staff had watched him at Metz in the French top flight and in England’s youth groups, and while they expressed some admiration, they did not recommend him.Manager Unai Emery thought differently.Villa were in the market for a younger profile of striker following Jhon Duran’s departure a year earlier and had been tracking Madjo for some time. The teenager, a muscular and imposing presence, impressed Emery through clips of his displays.There were some rough edges, understandably so ahead of turning 17 years of age in January, though he had major physical attributes and solid finishing ability. The possibility of refinement and his potential was significant. His physical profile, described by a recruitment figure, speaking on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to do so, was “amazing”.Emery entrusted his chief scout, Alberto Benito, with the job of taking a deeper look.Ordinarily, Adam Henshall heads up Villa’s head of emerging talent and loans, and because of his age Madjo would have fallen into that category. Although this is interpreted differently at every club, Villa view “emerging talent” as players who are 19 years of age or under.The acquisition of Madjo, however, was a consequence of first-team scouting, rather than youth recruitment. He was to be signed with first-team ambitions rather than the emerging-talent group.On Wednesday, in the Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain, Madjo announced himself to the wider football world with a goal in Villa’s defeat in Austria.Aston Villa signed Brian Madjo from Ligue 1 side Metz in January (Pakawich Damrongkiattisak/Getty Images)The £10million Villa forked out to Metz on his 17th birthday in January took several close observers by surprise, who believed it was excessive, especially in an austere financial climate where Villa remained beholden to regulations regarding their spending.If there was scepticism from some sources as to whether Madjo was worth as much, staff at the club knew by that point never to completely dismiss a player, particularly considering Emery’s track record of fostering considerable individual improvement. Paying £10million for a 17-year-old who had made his senior debut last August was a sign of the times and the strains of the market, whereby traditional centre-forwards are rare and, such is the demand, come at a premium. Stylistically, there is a dearth of strikers similar to Madjo, both in play-style but also, evidently, those possessing his towering frame.Two Villa sources described Madjo as a “physical monster”; clearly so far advanced in his maturation — looking several years older than typical for somebody of his age — that it was a super-strength. Madjo is already 6ft 4in (193cm) tall with a filled-out frame, and has even more room to grow. It makes his addition to the ranks at Villa Park such a curious, potentially enthralling one.