Former Arsenal trialist Mason Cotcher has signed for Aston Villa, joining up with their academy after leaving Sunderland.
Aston Villa confirmed on Monday that Mason Cotcher has signed for their academy, joining as a free agent after spending time at Sunderland. Cotcher had previously spent time on trial with Arsenal.
“We are delighted to see Mason join us having spent some time with us recently and especially as there was interest from other clubs,” Villa academy manager Mark Harrison said.
“He has represented England at youth level and is a forward player who has very good finishing and creative skills.
“We really look forward to seeing how he develops over the next few seasons.”
Reports suggest Cotcher has signed a three-year deal with Villa to 2027.
Early in the 2023/24 campaign, 17-year-old Cotcher looked to be in line for a move to Arsenal, spending time on trial with the Gunners.
The trial began in late October, with Cotcher making an unexpected appearance for the Arsenal u18s against Middlesbrough in the u18 Premier League Cup.
As the trial progressed, Cotcher got a chance to feature in a couple of u18 Premier League games, scoring once and assisting once in his two starts against Crystal Palace and Norwich City.
Before the end of November, Cotcher had also spent time training with the Arsenal first team. But that month in north London didn’t lead to a contract with the club.
Instead, Cotcher spent time with Manchester United in January, playing against Leeds United, before having a go with Leeds themselves.
Cotcher scored a couple of goals for the Leeds u18s and played 45 minutes for their u21s, then held a trial with Ipswich Town.
It might be surprising to see a player playing on trial with so many different clubs, particularly given he seems to have done quite well with a few of them.
But the problem was that Cotcher’s former side Sunderland were owed a compensation fee, which would have gone to a tribunal if the signing club couldn’t agree a fair payment.
Though Villa officially report that they’ve signed Cotcher as a “free agent”, they will pay a compensation fee to Sunderland.