Aston Villa defender Matty Cash is hoping his “dream” will come true against Bologna in the Champions League.
Villa take on the Serie A side in their third game of this season’s top European cup competition on Tuesday.
Right-back Cash has yet to feature in the competition this campaign having been sidelined through injury for their first match against Young Boys and then left as an unused substitute in the memorable victory of Bayern Munich.
Having played in both Premier League matches since that night, he is hoping to be able to make his Champions League debut against Bologna.
“As a young boy, every boy’s dream is to play at the highest level in football,” Cash said in the pre-match news conference. “I have worked incredibly hard to get here.
“I had a spell at the World Cup, which is a major tournament and that was amazing. I made my Premier League debut four years ago, and now the Champions League.
“I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve dreamed of these moments as a young boy and so hopefully it comes.”
Unai Emery’s side are hoping to build on their opening two wins of the competition, with those victories leaving them sixth in the new-look Champions League table format.
The club have been transformed under former Arsenal boss Emery over the past two seasons and Cash cannot see any limits for this team.
“In the last four years since I joined, the club has just gone through the roof,” said the Poland international. “The quality in every single department has gone up and the club has not got a ceiling.
“I think it can go all the way to the top. You can see that playing Champions League football has been a building block to get here. The manager has been a big part of that.”