Aston Villa are set to unveil their latest academy prospect in striker Nathan Delfouneso, who boss Martin O'Neill is convinced is one for the future. Now 17-year-old forward is set to play a key role in Thursday's UEFA Cup tie against Zilina at Villa Park.

O'Neill said: "It will be exciting for us to see Nathan in action. I want to see what he is capable of doing.

"He has got an awful lot of natural ability. Obviously, the last thing you want to do is go and build someone up for the sake of it.

"But there is a lot of excitement about him and the way he plays. He is a genuine threat.

"He can go past players and is getting stronger and even in the last year I have seen a big difference in him.

"He already trains with the first team for 85% of the time so I don't think he will be overawed on Thursday.

"But, even if he doesn't get a kick in this game, I've got a lot of confidence in him for the future."