At first glance there was the usual stuff: the wide smile, the guttural release, the punch of the air, teammates quickly on the scene to offer congratulations. But then the real celebration followed for the 17-year-old Brian Madjo. After scoring his first Aston Villa goal 45 minutes into an unforgettable debut, the teenager clasped his hands behind his back and then unlocked them with the kind of force he exhibited on the pitch. “No distractions, I’m free,” he posted on Instagram after finally being cleared to pull on a Villa shirt in a competitive game.After confirmation that the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) had upheld Villa’s appeal to register the 6ft 4in striker, the Madjo movement gathered pace. John McGinn and Amadou Onana responded to the club sharing the news on social media by posting “#freemadjo”. After Madjo shone in defeat in Salzburg, McGinn alluded to the painful and protracted waiting game. “Brian has had a terrible year,” the Villa captain said. “A player born in England should be able to play in England. He has the potential to be an unbelievable striker and he showed that.”For Madjo, it was a moment eight months in the making. Unai Emery, who pushed for his £10m signing from Metz, had been keen to unleash him towards the end of last season. It became apparent to staff across recent months that, such is Emery’s admiration of Madjo, it was unlikely the striker would be made available for loan like many of Villa’s other teenagers. After all, Madjo was signed as a first-team player, joining on his 17th birthday after Emery requested his chief scout, Alberto Benito, to personally review Madjo’s talent at Metz, for whom, last August, he made his Ligue 1 debut aged 16 and 217 days.At the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg on Wednesday night, it was easy to see why Emery was so enthused by the imposing striker, who made his England Under-17s debut this time last year. He was never going to be flawless against Paris Saint-Germain but it was an evening when he picked holes in one of the best centre-back partnerships in the game. Madjo’s raw power and attacking instincts ensured he gave Marquinhos and Willian Pacho a rough ride.Tyrone Mings has been there himself against Madjo in training. “He is a tough person to defend against,” Mings said. “I think he is about 100kg – he is a big old boy. He has got a very high ceiling. He is very, very difficult to play against and I just hope that his goal fills him with confidence, and he can go on and contribute to the team.“He has obviously had to be very patient until he could play, so I think that says a lot about his character. Clearly, mentally he is able to deal with setbacks. He missed a few chances and scored probably the hardest of them all. He is a fantastic guy. I think you could see the reaction of everybody when he scored.”Brian Madjo impressed with his holdup and general play as well as his finishing against PSG. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty ImagesSome of Madjo’s holdup play was excellent, his strength formidable to hold off Pacho before emphatically volleying in at the back post to break Patrick Kluivert’s 30-year record as the Super Cup’s youngest goalscorer. About 60 seconds earlier, he had bulldozed Pacho to release Emi Buendía on PSG’s goal.If Villa supporters thought they had seen that movie before, that is because last week, against the Thai Premier League side BG Pathum United, an opposition defender suffered a similar fate. When the ball squirted to the edge of the six-yard box after McGinn smacked the crossbar, the defender’s attempt to barge Madjo out of the way to reach the loose ball ended with Madjo in possession and the defender on all fours.Until last week, Madjo had been unable to represent Villa owing to Fifa regulations that deemed the £10m January arrival from Metz as the transfer of an “international minor”. He was raised in Luxembourg, for whom he has played in friendly matches, but born in Enfield, north London, to Cameroonian parents. His father, Guy, played for Plymouth and Shrewsbury. Mings believes watching footage of Ollie Watkins, who has hit double figures in each of the past six top-flight seasons and will return to training this week after an extended break, has helped him settle.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionBrian Madjo takes on Kritsada Kaman of Pathum United during another impressive pre-season display. Photograph: Pakawich Damrongkiattisak/Getty Images“I think the manager is big on what we do off the ball, probably more than what we do on the ball,” Mings said. “Ollie’s a great person to watch, because of his work-rate and what he brings to the team. He’s got Tammy [Abraham], too – that’s two very experienced strikers he has got in and around him. I’m sure he’ll learn a lot.“I had a few chats with him in the last 24 hours [before the game] in terms of what he’s about to go into and the experience. He said he was nervous, of course. He’s 17 and it’s a huge game. But I did say: ‘You get an amazing opportunity as a striker to just have one good moment and it can change everything for you.’ I’m so glad that after missing a couple of chances, he got that goal. He’s a very humble lad.”Madjo departed to a standing ovation from Villa’s travelling supporters after 72 minutes against PSG; 27 touches, six shots, one memorable strike. It has been quite the few weeks for Madjo – until Wednesday, Chelsea’s João Pedro was the only Premier League player to outscore him in pre-season – and now he will attempt to build on his tally of five goals.Villa flew to Düsseldorf at midday on Thursday in preparation for their final friendly against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday, before beginning their league campaign at Brighton a week on Sunday. For Madjo, it feels as if this is just the start. “He’s a beast,” said the Villa defender Matty Cash. “He’s so good – all pre-season he has put his body around and scored goals.”