Chelsea agree £20million Carney Chukwuemeka transfer from Aston Villa after Barca deal hijacked.
The England Under-19s international had been courted by Aston Villa to sign a new contract, but after receiving attention from a number of European clubs, he has chosen to join Stamford Bridge.
Carney Chukwuemeka will be permanently transferred to Chelsea from Aston Villa as part of a £20 million deal.
The teenager, whose performance this summer helped England Under-19s win the European Championship, is entering the final year of his Villa Park contract and has been hesitant to sign a new one.
Following his performances for the Young Lions earlier this summer, he has attracted a host of European interest, while the Villans had also hoped that he would eventually sign a new deal – having initially opened talks with the player’s representatives last October.
However, they were unable to extend the young star’s contract, which resulted in a dispute over the conditions and his advancement in the first squad between his representation and the club.
Chukwuemeka, 18, was frozen out by manager Steven Gerrard this summer and has been working out with the under-23 team because his camp was hesitant to accept the terms offered and Gerrard would not promise Chukwuemeka playing time.
He has been given permission to come to London to talk about personal matters and get a physical before joining Thomas Tuchel’s team, both clubs have announced.
Last week, Tuchel had a meeting with the player to convince him that staying at Chelsea would be ideal for his development because he would get playing time there. While keeping an eye on his status, Barcelona, AC Milan, and Borussia Dortmund were deterred by Villa’s asking price.
Chukwuemeka transferred from Northampton Town to the Villa academy in 2016, and he made his senior debut in May 2021. He appeared in 11 Premier League games for Villa last season.
For Villa, the loss of Chukwuemeka will be slightly mitigated by Jacob Ramsey’s continued development after a strong debut campaign last year.
Ramsey, 21, scored six goals in 35 games last season and established himself as Gerrard’s first choice. His boss thinks he can score twice from midfield, thus he is expected to play an even bigger part this season.
