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Andre Green could be named as a surprise inclusion in Aston Villa’s squad for the final Premier League game of the season on Sunday.

Boss Tim Sherwood will shuffle his pack for the sell-out Villa Park clash against Burnley and the 17-year-old forward is thought to be strongly in his plans.

The highly-rated and level-headed teenager has impressed for the development sides this season and Sherwood has been pleased with his contribution since introducing him to first-team training.

Jet-heeled Green has yet to make it into the matchday 18 but he will take a giant leap forward if he is introduced at the weekend.

Can you spot yourself among the Villa fans at Southampton?

Having made his U21 debut as a 15-year-old back in January 2014, the England U17 international has made steady progress over the last 18 months.

He laid on the assist for Graham Burke as the U21s wrapped up their campaign with a 1-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday night and was unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet himself.

Alongside fellow youngster Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, who was handed his first senior appearance by Sherwood earlier this season, the attacker, who can play through the middle or out wide, is seen as one of Villa’s brightest young prospects.

And with Premier League survival now secured the claret and blues are in a position to blood their youngsters should the manager see fit.

Sherwood has already hinted that Callum Robinson could feature while the likes of Lewis Kinsella and Riccardo Calder are also pushing for places on the bench.

During his time at Tottenham the gaffer enhanced his reputation for promoting the youth by nurturing the likes of Harry Kane, Nabil Bentaleb, and Ryan Mason.

With points at a premium since his arrival in February it’s been hard for Sherwood to gamble on unproven players, although Jack Grealish is an exception.

A long-term plan is now in place and the aim is to avoid letting players like Gary Cahill, Peter Whittingham, Dan Crowley and Daniel Johnson slip through the net.

When asked if he was surprised that Villa have released good youngsters in the past, Sherwood said: “I think every club has done that at some point.

“If you look down, you can highlight some who have released ones that haven’t been good enough. They’ve got it right and wrong at times. Every club will be the same.

“You’ll never get them all right but I’ll be very reluctant to release any academy players.”

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