‘They’re really good with that’: Aston Villa loanee stands by parent club’s strategy for player development
West Bromwich Albion loan player Samuel Iling-Junior has expressed his faith in his parent club’s player development strategy.
Aston Villa signed England Under-21 international Iling-Junior from Juventus in the summer of 2024. Along with midfielder Enzo Barrenechea, he was part of the arrangement that took Douglas Luiz to what proved a short spell in Turin.
Iling-Junior is no stranger to the loan market, where many young players have to operate after signing for Premier League clubs.
The Under-21 Championship winner hasn’t played a senior game for Villa despite some experience in the first team at Juventus. Iling-Junior has played in more than 40 Serie A matches and even has a Champions League goal to his name having scored for Bologna while on loan there from Villa last season.
Iling-Junior would be forgiven for being disappointed not to be having an impact at Villa at the age of 22 but the Express & Star reports that he believes in Villa’s player development plan even though he’s on his third loan and playing in the Championship.
“They are in touch, and they keep checking,” he said. “They’ve got a loan system, so they’ve got a management that keeps in contact with us, sees how we’re feeling, and makes sure that we’re good. They’re really good with that.”
In between spells at Bologna and West Bromwich Albion, Iling-Junior played 16 Championship matches for Middlesbrough in 2024/25.
The need for regular playing time
The young winger played regularly in Villa’s pre-season friendlies in the summer after returning to England from his successful international duty in Slovakia. Despite that step closer to the first team, playing regular football is his priority.
“I was a big part of it,” he said.
“I think it was just more of a discussion of where do I see myself going this season? I had a little spell of playing at Middlesbrough, and I really enjoyed that.
“I don’t want to have a season where I’m on and off the bench. So I just had to think about playing.
“At the minute it’s just day-by-day. I can’t think about the end of the season just yet, just because I don’t know what’s going to happen. So it’s just day-by-day, and just give 100 percent every day.”
Iling-Junior made the loan switch to the Hawthorns on transfer deadline day. The former Juventus winger has started twice and scored one in league action for the Baggies so far this season.
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