By John Townley
Aston Villa have completed the signing of promising forward Zepiqueno Redmond. The 19-year-old鈥檚 contract with Feyenoord expired last month, meaning he has joined Villa as a free agent . Many clubs were reportedly been monitoring his progress, including Premier League outfits Tottenham and Bournemouth , while AC Milan had also been credited with an interest. Redmond was born in Rotterdam and played for the likes of Alexandria’66, CVV Zwervers and ADO Den Haag before joining Feyenoord鈥檚 youth set-up in 2019. He was at Zwervers for a year-and-a-half, from 2015 to 2017, and his former coach Ricardo Veerman recalled to AD what he saw in the forward from a young age. 鈥淲hat stood out was that he was younger than the other boys around him,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou can tell pretty quickly if a kid has something, but he had something truly special. 鈥淗e could dribble past defenders with ease and scored a lot 鈥 often three times per match, sometimes even more. He was one of the key players, although that鈥檚 a funny thing to say about someone that age. Coaches around us were always asking who he was and how old he was. 鈥淗e picked things up incredibly fast. He wasn鈥檛 afraid of anything, and he didn鈥檛 need much instruction. What I鈥檒l never forget is his passionate mother 鈥 she was already his biggest fan back then, always cheering from the sidelines with his younger siblings.鈥 John Meeder, whose son played in Redmond鈥檚 youth team, added: 鈥淲ith him, they immediately won their first trophy. You could see the talent shining through. 鈥淗e was both left- and right-footed. And he didn鈥檛 just score 鈥 he had great game sense. He started playing relatively late, actually. I think he could鈥檝e been even better if he had started earlier.鈥 After his time at CVV Zwervers, Redmond was picked up by ADO Den Haag, where he continued to develop into one of the most promising young strikers in the country. 鈥淚 heard he scored 80 in one season, including cup matches. That鈥檚 a ridiculous number,鈥 Meeder added. It wasn鈥檛 long before Redmond emerged on Feyenoord鈥檚 radar, and they were quick to snap him up. He has made nine senior appearances for Feyenoord this season, having been handed his debut in November by former manager Brian Priske during a 4-1 win over Almere City in the Eredivisie. “He is a footballer and still young,鈥 Priske said after the game. 鈥淎 young boy with big dreams and expectations. He now gets the chance in the first team. 鈥淗e is a nice and positive boy who works hard. He can also score goals like he did in the youth. Of course we have to wait and see how he will do and how he fits into the team. 鈥淗e has trained with us for a few weeks now and the boys like him and have a good bond with him. It is good and interesting to see how he will do.” Redmond was given the opportunity to lead the line against Almere due to Priske suffering a few injuries in his forward line. At 18 years and 141 days, Redmond became the youngest starting debutant in the Eredivisie for Feyenoord since Orkun Kokcu in December 2018. Asked about making his debut, the striker said: “I wasn’t thinking about it at all. It’s a great opportunity for me, but it’s a shame that the team is missing so many good strikers. 鈥淚 think it went okay. Of course, you always want to show more, but it’s a start and I have to be satisfied with that, I think. “The coach told me that this is just the beginning and that I can only make more steps. I always hope for more, but it is in my own hands.” He went on to feature in the club鈥檚 next two league matches and scored his first two goals in a 2鈥1 victory over MVV Maastricht in the KNVB Cup on December 17. Two months later, he made his Champions League debut, starting in a group-stage clash against AC Milan at the San Siro, which ended in a 1-1 draw. He also featured in the round of 16 second leg against Inter, coming on for the final 15 minutes 鈥 also at the San Siro. Redmond went viral on social media in Brazil for his first name, which is inspired by a popular South American movie, first screened in 2002, four years before he was born. 鈥淢y name comes from a Brazilian movie, City of God,鈥 he explained. 鈥淢y parents took the name from there and gave it their own twist. 鈥淭he movie is a bit about gangsters. The main character is called Z茅 Pequeno. That鈥檚 where my parents got the name from. Luckily, that didn’t happen [becoming a gangster] and I became a footballer!鈥 Since late February, Redmond had been working under Premier League legend Robin van Persie, who replaced Priske. The youngster, however, only made one league appearance under Van Persie, who has included him in eight of the 13 Eredivisie matches he has taken charge of.