The agent of Aston Villa youngster Carney Chukwuemeka reportedly met with Barcelona officials on Tuesday amid ongoing speculation over his future.
The 18-year-old’s current contract is set to expire at the end of next season, and as of yet, there hasn’t been any significant update on an extension from the parties concerned.
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In turn, Villa face a big decision on his future if he doesn’t pen new terms this summer, and the situation could be complicated further now amid interest from Barcelona.
As reported by Mundo Deportivo, Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff met with Chukwuemeka’s agent on Tuesday and while they communicated that they were not in a position to sign him this summer for a transfer fee, if he doesn’t renew and is available on a free next summer, they could then swoop.
After impressing at youth level, Chukwuemeka made 12 Premier League appearances last season and was a regular part of the senior squad with Steven Gerrard opening the door for our youngsters to get opportunities if they impressed in training.
While it’s clear that the talented youngster will get a pathway to become a regular at Villa if he earns it, it seems as though the delay over his contract situation is raising doubts over his long-term future at the club, and that is only going to be amplified now amid touted interest from Barcelona.
Villa have a crop of top young talents coming through and while it would certainly be disappointing to lose Chukwuemeka next year, we have the quality in the current squad to comfortably move on and continue to promote others with the likes of Tim Iroegbunam and Tommi O’Reilly also knocking on the door for more chances in the Villa midfield.
