Olof Mellberg was a fan favourite at Aston Villa, playing over 200 times in his seven-year stint at the club.

His son John, who was born in Birmingham during his father’s time at Villa, joined Red Bull Salzburg last summer and spent a loan deal at Liefering before returning to the Austrian giants and then going back to Liefering in the summer.

He was part of the Salzburg squad before departing and the young Mellberg has opened up about his future and revealed that Aston Villa tried to sign him, but he never really opened up to joining the English side.

In a chat with Fotbollskanalen, Mellberg was asked about interest from the Birmingham club.

He said: “ Absolutely, there was interest. But I felt that Salzburg suited me best.”

The 18-year-old left-back said that he wants to follow the likes of Erling Haaland and Dominik Szoboszlai, who came through at Salzburg and joined bigger clubs after their development.

“Absolutely. That and the way the club showed their faith in me. It was definitely a factor in why I went there.”

Playing in the Champions League was also a big attraction, and his debut clearly left a big impact.

“It has been a dream for me. It was close to tears of joy. I tried to hold myself together.”

A move to Aston Villa would have been a bit of a fairytale for the youngster and for the club, but he is still only 18 and has a lot of time ahead of him to get a potential Premier League move.

The fact that he played in the Champions League for Salzburg before going back to Liefering shows that the Austrian giants trust him a fair bit and want him to continue his development under their umbrella.