Club leaves ‘unbelievable’ £40m midfielder out of their pre-season tour squad, after reports Arsenal want him – could He be joining Arsenal soon?
Arsenal have been linked with Aston Villa talent Carney Chukwuemeka in recent days.
According to 90Min, the Gunners are ‘open to trying to land Chukwuemeka this summer’.
As well as Arsenal, the likes of Newcastle United, Manchester United and Manchester City are also in pursuit.
And those are just the Premier League clubs currently being linked with the 18-year-old.
Apparently, the likes of Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Juventus are also keeping tabs on him.
Chukwuemeka’s Villa contract expires next summer and talks over a new contract haven’t proven fruitful so far.
Now, the Birmingham Mail has reported that the “unbelievable” player hasn’t travelled with Villa on their pre-season tour of Australia due to his contract situation.
‘BirminghamLive has been informed that it remains in the best interests of both the club and player for Chukwuemeka not to travel to Australia given his uncertain future,’ they wrote.
The outlet also quotes Steven Gerrard as telling Villa TV: “Carney is yet to sign a contract offer that has been in place for some time now.
“I’ve decided the best thing for him would be to continue his training programme back at Bodymoor.”
“One of the best 18-year-olds we’ve seen in a long time”
Graeme Bailey, who wrote the 90Min article on Chukwuemeka, has also told The Talking Transfers Podcast that Arsenal see him as a potential starter.
He claimed the Gunners would be willing to pay up to £30million for him, though Villa apparently want over £40million.
“At the moment, he is turning down this contract, he is refusing to sign it,” Bailey said.
“And that’s why we’re seeing Arsenal and Newcastle linked.
“And Arsenal and Newcastle both see this guy as someone who could potentially start for them. He’s that good.”
“Someone said to me they’d want over £40million for him. They’re not going to get that because of his contract situation.
“But would someone like Arsenal pay £20-£30 million? I think they probably would because he is such a huge talent.
“In England, within the scouting ranks, they think this guy is one of the best 18-year-olds we’ve seen in a long time.”
Chukwuemeka helped England’s Under-19s win the European title earlier this month, scoring in the final against Israel.
