Borussia Dortmund is not in the running to sign Carney Chukwuemeka, claims a report, but Liverpool are said to be interested in the Aston Villa youngster.
The 18-year-old midfielder has been brilliant for England’s Under-19s at the European Championships in Slovakia. He has helped the Young Lions to the semi-final, where they will face Italy on Tuesday.
Chukwuemeka, who made 12 appearances in the Premier League last season for Villa, has grabbed two goals and two assists at the tournament.
He is very highly thought of at Aston Villa and they are trying to extend his contract which expires next summer.
Christian Purslow called Chukwuemeka “probably the best 16-year-old in England” back in 2020. And Steven Gerrard said last month: “He’s hopefully going to be a big player for Aston Villa. We want him to stay here long-term.
“We believe it’s the right place for Carney and, again, myself and the staff have shown huge trust putting an 18-year-old in but we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t think he was ready, or have the ability not to cope.”
Those hopes looked to have been dashed with Chukwuemeka said to be heading to Dortmund.
The Bundesliga giants have a proven track record of luring a developing young English talent. And Chukwuemeka looked likely to be their next big import.
But Patrick Berger of Germany’s Sport1, via Sport Witness has completely dismissed those claims. Berger says that reports in the English media saying a the player will join Dortmund is wide of the mark.
“There is no agreement” for the player to join BVB. who seem eager not to get on the wrong side of Villa.
TalkSPORT do claimed that Arsenal, Liverpool, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are keen on the talented player. And it will be good news for those clubs and Villa that Dortmund have been ruled out of the equation.
Just where the future of Chukwuemeka’s lies remains unclear, but Gerrard said in March talks had “not progressed”.
He was expected to pen a long-term deal on his 18th birthday back in October but that never materialised. Chukwuemeka apparently wants more assurances over his playing time in the Premier League.
He only started two games in the league and one in the FA Cup under Gerrard last season. The Villa boss though insists the club have a detailed “road map” for the player. But Villa are well stocked in that area including the well-liked Jacob Ramsey and Tim Iroegbunam.
