There was a time when Rushian Hepburn-Murphy was the name on everyone’s lips for Aston Villa fans.

At just 16, he became the youngest player to represent the club in the Premier League after coming off the bench for the final seven minutes of a 4-0 win over Sunderland in 2015.

Tim Sherwood, the manager who gave Hepburn-Murphy his debut at Villa, then tipped his protégé for big things.

“He was very successful in the youth team,” said Sherwood, explaining the teenager’s selection at the time. “I think he scored 18 goals in 21 games.

“He is a talent for the future of the football club. It will be expensive now if someone wants to try to take him away from us!

“It was a great time for him to come. I loved breaking the good news to him.”

Hepburn-Murphy didn’t kick a ball for the first team for the next 18 months before appearing as an option for Roberto Di Matteo and Steve Bruce in the 2016/17 season.

He was often overlooked by senior forwards such as Jonathan Kodjia, Rudy Gestede, Ross McCormack, Scott Hogan and Gabby Agbonlahor and only played three games for a total of 24 minutes.

Hepburn-Murphy’s future has been a hot topic of conversation this season with the forward linked several times with a transfer to Rangers as his contract draws to a close.

Eventually a deal was made for him to stay at Villa Park until 2020 and Bruce made him a more regular presence in the first team.

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Hepburn-Murphy’s opportunities remained limited, however, and he conceded just five more games in 2017/18.

He was one of the young people who thought Villa’s financial woes would give them chances in the summer of 2018 – along with Callum O’Hare, Mitchell Clark and Easah Suliman – but the exact opposite happened when the takeover of Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens has been finalized. .

After making seven appearances in the first few weeks of the new season, Hepburn-Murphy made way for Bruce once Bruce revamped his squad with several top-tier acquisitions ahead of the deadline.

Bruce’s replacement Dean Smith sent the striker on loan to Cambridge United in January 2019, where he scored twice in 16 Ligue 2 games.

That form was enough to secure a loan from Tranmere Rovers the following season and Hepburn-Murphy scored five goals – including a hat-trick against MK Dons – in 23 appearances before the deal was cut short in January.

Villa got him to join the Derby County Under-23s on loan in a deal that effectively marked the end of Hepburn-Murphy’s stay at his childhood club.

Confirmation came last summer and the choice of Hepburn-Murphy’s club was interesting to say the least. Instead of moving to the EFL, he flew to Cyprus and signed a contract with Pafos.

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Hepburn-Murphy, who turned 23 in August, has scored five goals in 23 games in his first season with his new club. Aside from playing his favorite center hitter role, Hepburn-Murphy also played in a wide stance in Cyprus, which makes this comeback slightly more impressive.

While Hepburn-Murphy’s first season with Pafos was not a disappointment, bigger things were expected after he found the net SEVEN times in a preseason friendly against Team B from Riga last year.

Nonetheless, Hepburn-Murphy’s bold move appears to have given him the first team experience and exposure that Villa was unable to.

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