Aston Villa to demand £20million for Carney Chukwuemeka this summer
Aston Villa have slapped a £20million price tag on young midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka, according to TalkSPORT.
Villa boss Steven Gerrard confirmed in an interview with the club’s website on Wednesday morning (13 July) that he had left Chukwuemeka out of the club’s pre-season tour due to his ongoing contract standoff.
It is now expected that the starlet will leave the club within the next 12 months and TalkSport reported on Thursday afternoon (14 July) that Villa want to sell this summer.
The report states that Villa will ask for £20million to sell up this summer, with Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund among those interested in Chukwuemeka’s services.
However, it seems unlikely that Villa will get anywhere close to that given he is available for a nominal compensation fee to foreign clubs in January, which the Birmingham Mail reported at being £300,000.
A sad state of affairs
Chukwuemeka’s contract situation is confusing however you look at it, but it is also quite sad from Villa’s perspective.
The club placed a lot of faith in Chukwuemeka to give him a contract just as he turned 17 and giving him his debut against Tottenham in 2021.
Dean Smith showed absolute faith in him during his time in charge, giving him a surprise first start against Brentford in August 2021.
Steven Gerrard gave him a run of minutes, albeit all from the bench, after he took over in an effort to convince him to stay.
There is a clear pathway into the first team, as shown by Jacob Ramsey and Cameron Archer making the step up over the last year, so Chukwuemeka could absolutely develop at Villa and realise his potential.
Villa will be lucky to get a meaningful fee this summer given he is available for practically nothing in January which is unfortunate, but things like that happen in football.
If there is no indication that he is going to sign a new contract then Gerrard is absolutely right to leave him out of his plans this season.
In other Aston Villa news, Alan Hutton has predicted that Cameron Archer will leave the club on loan this summer.