Finn Azaz is going to be a star - somewhere

90 seconds passed and he pulled the trigger twice. When Finn Azaz is on the pitch, he's firing.

Gliding between the lines, dropping into open spaces. He's a phantom calling for the ball. When he has it, that gentleness evaporates entirely. He's direct with the ball, forever goalbound.

It was slightly hard to believe this was Azaz's first Championship start.

Against Southampton, the Villa loanee displayed his best qualities, and while a goal contribution escaped him before he was taken off in the 80th minute, there was a lot to like about his showing in a 1-2 loss where the Saints stole a late winner through Che Adams.

Sadly, his finishing didn't have a chance to display itself. His early shots were rapidly closed down despite his smarts earning the space for him to fire at goal.

Ryan Hardie's equalising goal saw the playmaker drift phantom-like into open spaces beyond Hardie, always in a space to pull the trigger should the ball arrive to him. A late-arriving option, ready to pounce.

When Hardie snapped the Saints' offside trap, Azaz had already released the ball onto him into open space. Firing the jets, Hardie failed to stay on his feet when challenged by Gavin Bazanu in goal. These events are always a shame as this is what the mainstream don't see when they look in goal and assist columns.

In Azaz, Villa have a incredibly smart, and technically gifted footballer. His intelligence shouldn't surprise you either, he got 9 A* grades in his GCSE exams.

The current Finn Azaz gives goals, killer passes and cutting intelligence. What the current Azaz doesn't give, however, is game-changing physicality.

The laziest comparison is with Conor Hourihane, who excelled at each stage of the Football League pyramid (and rather ironically kickstarted his career in Plymouth at 20). In Hourihane's case, Premier League football arrived at an odd time for him. Too late, perhaps even for a late bloomer with a chip on their shoulder. Hourihane's technique was top-tier, but other parts of his game struggled at that stage of his career as he hit his peak. There's learning for Azaz there, but he's a thrill to watch all the same.

Azaz could be stronger. He could be faster. However, he's tough and sharp - that puts him ahead of others. Speed eventually fails. Strength ebbs away. He'll have a long career, should he be lucky with injuries. Ideally he can build on what he has to make sure he's performing in the top-tier, eventually.

His method bearing down on goal reminds me a lot of the Grealish epic vs Rotherham. No, he's not the same player - but the same idea is there. He's going to pitch passes wide, receive them again, drive forward, pitch it wide once more and wait to finish. He's always got the next move in mind. It's great technique.

If Grealish did that in the manner of a velvet slipper, Azaz does it slightly more as though he thinks he is a steel toe cap. He's rather brutally direct, but perhaps doesn't have the elite athleticism to match the ideas. The instincts speak for themselves though, and you'd much rather work with those raw attributes than a player who can simply 'run very fast'.

He is well coached at Plymouth, and doesn't hesitate - a fantastic trait - even if that ends up with a blind pass to the opposition sometimes. It means he isn't weighed down with decisions.

Teams coached progressively like Argyle will rely on training ground situations to pull the rug on 'bigger' clubs. Azaz has the smarts and wherewithal to deploy those coached instructions rather intrinsically in his game. That alone would make him a favourite amongst managers.

It's early days in the Championship, and while Plymouth are tangling with the best footballing teams at the moment, it is a long season - and the Green Army might find themselves outgunned at points. However, if Azaz can involve himself in attacking movements as much as he did today against one of the favourites to go up, he'll be an in-demand player next season.

And rightly so. He'd have shown off his abilities at each step of the ladder, and would arrive at a club with an admirable pedigree having passed through both the WBA and Aston Villa (this is a stretch, he's barely spent any time here) academies - with some impressive loan spells surrounding that time.

Prediction time. He'll play at senior level for the Republic of Ireland this season - but he'll likely be sold in the summer.

I just do not see him breaking through at Villa right away and the reason why is they same reason as to why I don't see Aaron Ramsey doing the same thing. He will be sold with a buy-back clause, and bank the club some money.

Could he perform for Villa? Yes. He'd be a decent rotation option. He'd play the odd-game in Europe.

But that's not what the club want to do.

They seem to want to 'lease' these players out, and spring them back into the fold should they fit in. Right now, arguably a number of youth players are on the cusp of being 'good enough' but Villa don't have the time to offer them any serious minutes, the ones needed to further develop a player. Those minutes realise potential. They are not available, right now, at Villa.

Arguably, they will remain unavailable even next season for Azaz.

If Azaz follows the 'late bloomer' manual, and excels at the lower reaches of the Premier League, there's a path back - and it is one Villa will make themselves.

Like Ramsey, it will be an instruction for the player to blossom outside the nest. Like Ramsey, it will offer a chance to return if the opportunity is right.

And best of all, it avoids players being stuck within a loan limbo. It gives them an opportunity to earn better money, and better chances, without Villa losing the final say. That's good for business and it is good for players like Azaz, who have clearly got what it takes to shine in the Football League.

And one day, beyond.

Stupidly, I clocked on the Villa tickets website at 12pm today to try and grab a Hibs away ticket for Wednesday (season ticket holder criteria unlocked at 12pm) despite the fact they had clearly sold out. It took me 20 minutes of refreshing to realise.

The season of me reporting on games for papers and not attending them as a fan after my aways in the Championship will haunt me. Forever. I don't think I'll ever be able to build up my booking history. Ahh well.

It's hard to argue with the fans who are going though. They've supported the club through thick-and-thin, and they'll be LOUD up in Edinburgh.

A bunch of new people signed up the newsletter last week from Reddit (Hi r/AVFC), but I think I've reached a saturation point with newsletter promotion. Essentially, I believe everyone who I - personally via word of mouth - can get to sign up to the newsletter has signed up.

So, my little plea? Show someone this newsletter, spread the word a little?

I'd be forever grateful! Here's why I'd like you to do that.

There's almost 1000 people who have signed up to this newsletter (thank you so much), but I have really ambitious targets this season. I'd like to double - if not triple that.

Some say this is the best Villa writing around. Modestly, I'd disagree (but thank you). Amid waves and waves of brilliant podcast, Twitter (X) content & threads and in-depth articles, I'd really like this to be established as THE Villa newsletter. I believe in writing, and I think it should be an incredible part of 'new' media as it was with 'old' media.

So, why shouldn't we go for it and be a thing?

That'd be cool.

UTV.