O'Neill: Nathan Delfounso shaping up nicely

Feb 6 2008 By Bill Howell, Birminmgham Mail

MARTIN O'Neill has spoken of his delight at Villa's capture of prolific teenage striker Nathan Delfounso on a first professional contract.

Delfounso turned 17 last Saturday and has signed a deal which will secure his long-term future at Villa Park.

The highly-rated youngster was a travelling member of the first-team squad for last Sunday's trip to Fulham and is now expected to follow in the footsteps of Gabriel Agbonlahor, Luke Moore and Darius Vassell in making his mark in the Premier League.

"He has been sparkling," said O'Neill. "He came down with us to Fulham to get a feel of it.

"He will train with us now for a while. He will flit between the senior squad and youth team.

"We don't want him to become too big headed, but he has got a chance of being a player."

Delfounso, who has broken into the reserves - scored the only goal at Colchester in the last 16 of the FA Youth Cup and followed it with a hat-trick as Villa cruised to the sixth round by thrashing Ipswich Town 5-0.

He also scored three for England in the opening game of their UEFA Under-17 championship qualifiers against Malta in October.

Delfounso's mentor, Gordon Cowans, believes Delfounso has a bright future ahead of him.

He said: "Nathan has showed a lot of potential."