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The rise of Indiana Vassilev may have come to a surprise to many onlookers, but to those inside Bodymoor Heath, the American had already been pinned as 'one for the future'.

The only surprise was how quickly it has all happened.

With injuries decimating Aston Villa's front line, many expected Dean Smith to rush into the transfer market for reinforcements. And although Mbwana Samatta and Borja Baston arrived in the January window, the Villa boss was relaxed about his options.

That calmness was partially down to the performances of Vassilev, who was dropped into the deep end, with two Premier League performances in the last month.

On the youngster, who can play both as a winger and a striker, Smith said: "He's surprised me in a good way. Sometimes when you give an opportunity to a young player they can sink or swim. He is certainly a swimmer. He has looked really good so far.

"You can always tell how the reaction is through the other players, in their relationships with them. You can see them all behind him. He goes in and puts a shift in for them. If you do that and have quality to add to it you will do alright in the dressing room."

The reaction that Smith described in the first-team dressing room is one that Villa's U23 coach Mark Delaney knew would occur.

“He’s a real shining light for the Academy and he speaks volume for us as an Academy," Delaney told VillaTV.

"If you know him as a character and see him around any dressing room or around any training session, he’s a person who you just warm to. He's got that enjoyment factor, they’re all young kids and you want them to enjoy football and that’s what he does every day.

“Not forgetting that he’s a talented footballer, somebody who we’re not surprised where he’s got, But we are surprised at how quickly he’s got there.

“He’s taken every opportunity and if you speak to the manager, and Rich [O'Kelly] and John [Terry] – they all value his contribution at the minute.”

After arriving from IMG Academy in Florida in 2018, Vassilev has made a huge impact on his coaches both at youth level and in Smith's first-team staff.

Asked what makes Vassilev stand out, Delaney added: “It goes back to, he came into us two years ago and you want that person from another country, to come in and grab that opportunity and he's definitely done that.

“It’s a rise that we thought might take a little bit of time, but in the right place at the right time, anything can happen. Over the last couple of months he’s scored goals, he’s been involved in goals. Every game you watch, he’s been the biggest part of the team and people recognise it and the manager has as well.

“He was first to say, ‘Get him up with me and let me have a look at him’."

With the arrival of the new forwards in January, Vassilev may once again be forced to wait for his opportunity, but he has a track record of grabbing them when they come along.