The Athletic’s Gregg Evans has revealed that Aston Villa youngster Carney Chukwuemeka is ‘no closer to signing’ a new contract with the club.
When Villa lost Jacob Ramsey to a first-half injury in their recent 4-1 defeat against West Ham United, Dean Smith would have looked to his bench for a midfield replacement. He opted to put Ashley Young on, though 18-year-old Chukwuemeka must have also crossed his mind as an option.
The talented youngster has played just once in the league for the Villans all season, sitting on the bench on four other occasions (including the entirety of that West Ham match).
While talking about the player on the 1874 podcast, Evans has now claimed that this lack of game time could leave Aston Villa in ‘danger’ of losing Chukwuemeka as he may not want to sign a new contract.
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He explained the situation, saying: “If I go back to Chukwuemeka, he’s no closer to signing a contract. In fact, I understand they’re not even talking about a new contract at the moment.
“And why would they? Because he’s not playing any minutes. And Villa are in danger, really. Okay, I think he’s got 17 or 18 months left on his deal, but Villa are in danger of losing this kid to a team that are willing to play him if he doesn’t get the minutes that he needs and that he wants and that he was promised.
“Because when he signed his pro deal, he was promised minutes, and yeah, he’s had a few in the Premier League, but he isn’t getting as many as he would have hoped.”
TIF Thoughts on Carney Chukwuemeka and Aston Villa…
As things stand, a start against Brentford back in August is the only time the teenager has been granted Premier League game time this season. His other opportunities have come in the League Cup, or elsewhere at youth level (via Transfermarkt).
Chukwuemeka signed his first professional contract, having just turned 17 years old, as recently as last year, and it will reportedly run out in June 2023.
Since that moment, he has gone on to make five senior appearances, playing a total of 202 minutes. If Evans is right in claiming that he was guaranteed a decent amount of game time, those fairly limited chances may well see him feel somewhat frustrated.
Fortunately, Villa still have plenty of time to convince him of their project yet. And, of course, still being a teenager, Chukwuemeka also has time on his side. Perhaps he has the patience to wait for his chance.
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