Steven Gerrard recently spoke out about Carney Chukwuemeka’s future at Aston Villa, admitting the 18-year-old still hasn’t put pen to paper on a new deal that has been on the table for some time. He left the midfielder out of Villa’s pre-season squad that are travelling to Australia this summer.
The writing appears to be on the wall for Chukwuemeka and Gerrard told Villa TV: “Carney is yet to sign a contract offer that has been in place for some time now. I’ve decided the best thing for him would be to continue his training programme back at Bodymoor.”
The 18-year-old rose through the youth ranks to Villa’s first-team in 2020/21, scoring 10 goals with eight assists from 26 games for the U18s, scoring three goals with five assists from 28 games for the U23s and making one assist from 16 appearances at senior level.
Chukwuemeka is highly-rated at Villa and has been tipped for a bright future, but it doesn’t seem like he’ll see out his career in the Midlands. The England U19 international, who boasts five goals with four assists in 12 games for his country, is out of contract in 2023, so he could leave on a free transfer next year.
And with 90min reporting interest from Barcelona, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United, Atletico Madrid and Newcastle United, Villa have a chance to make some money by cashing in early.
