Ajani Burchall has signed a professional contract with Premier League side Aston Villa.

The club announced today that the Bermudian winger has agreed to the terms of an undisclosed deal.

Burchall joined Villa from Bournemouth in July after turning down a scholarship offer from the South Coast club in February to pave the way for a free transfer.

“We are delighted to see Ajani sign his first professional contract after joining us in the summer,” Mark Harrison, the Villa academy manager, told the club’s website.

“We feel he has a lot of potential which, with a lot of hard work, he will hopefully fulfil.

“We look forward to seeing how he develops.”

The news comes in the week that Villa sacked Dean Smith as manager after five straight defeats.

Former Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard has been confirmed as his successor after compensation terms were agreed with Rangers, where he managed the Glasgow giants to one Scottish Premiership title in 3½ years in charge.