George Hemmings is a talented 18-year-old defensive-midfielder who is highly-regarded at Aston Villa as a potential future star. Joining the club from Nottingham Forest in January 2024, Hemmings signed his first professional contract just three months later.
He played an integral part in Villa's U-18 side who won the domestic treble last season, whilst also making appearances for Villa's U-21 side in both the Premier League 2 and UEFA Youth League. Playing the majority of the season as a No 6, Hemmings is also capable of playing as a No 8 and No 10. The England U-18 international has represented his country five times with some believing he could play for the England U-21s in the not so distant future despite only being 18.
Hemmings' Style of Play
Upon signing his first professional contract, Villa's academy manager Mark Harrison said, "George is an athletic, very technical central midfield player who is very dynamic. If he continues to work hard and remains focused, we will hopefully see him break into the first team squad in the coming years." These words are echoed throughout Villa's youth coaches, showing how much of a talented prospect they think he is.
First-team manager Unai Emery excels at guiding and improving young players, like Morgan Rogers last season who improved astronomically. Hemmings has the perfect support around him to develop into a fantastic player.
In Villa's first pre-season game against Walsall, Hemmings showed glimpses of his talent. He slotted seamlessly next to Boubacar Kamara in Villa's double pivot and was very eager to get on the ball. His composure when under pressure from the opposition was also a standout and it was clear to see Hemmings was comfortable playing at the senior level.
Other attributes of his are that he is an incredibly strong runner with the ball and physical dueller, which is quite similar to current first-team player Amadou Onana. His great performances last season were rewarded in May of this year, when he signed a new long-term contract. Villa's background staff will be closely monitoring his progress as he develops, with it highly likely that he could be around the first-team in a couple of years time. Whilst Villa's central midfield is stacked with quality players, who knows where they will be when Hemmings is ready to make that jump. If a couple were to leave then there would certainly be an avenue for Hemmings to become a first-team regular.
For now though, in Villa's pre-season, training around the first-team under Unai Emery will definitely teach him a lot. They will no doubt be considering whether or not to send him out on loan or if it's better for his development to have another year in the U-21s. Regardless of what happens to Hemmings for the upcoming season, he is unquestionably a player to keep an eye on for the future.
