Aston Villa teenager Carney Chukwuemeka playing for the England under-17 side last year. (Getty Images for DFB)
According to Birmingham Live, Manchester United have been credited with an interest in Aston Villa wonderkid Carney Chukwuemeka.
The highly-rated Chukwuemeka is considered one of the brightest upcoming talents in English football and has been described as the “probably the best 16-year-old in England right now” by Villa CEO Christian Purslow.
Despite still in school, the teenager now plies his trade with the big boys in the under-23 side. The box-to-box midfielder’s game has left the Villa officials so impressed that he had featured three times for their youth side in the Premier League 2.
Predominantly a central midfielder, Chukwuemeka is yet to feature for Dean Smith’s first-team. In his 14 appearances in the youth league, the 16-year-old has scored twice and provided six assists, speaking volumes about the talent that the teenager possesses.
Meanwhile, Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has acted upon his words by keeping faith in the side’s youngsters.
Time and again, Solskjaer has stressed on the importance of building a team out of homegrown talents. This has seen the likes of academy graduates and teenagers such as Mason Greenwood and Brandon Williams being integrated into the first-team line-up.
Hence, there is no denying that Old Trafford could definitely turn out to be a place where the youngster could flourish. However, the Red Devils’ pursuit of Chukwuemeka seems totally pointless at the moment.
With the likes of talented youngsters such as Angel Gomes and James Garner waiting in line to break into the first-team, Chukwuemeka could take a long time to establish himself at Old Trafford. And this could turn out either way for the upcoming sensation. He could be a star or just a shadow of what he is now. However, only the future knows what is in store for him.
Rather, it would be better for the youngster to stay at Villa Park, where he has already made a name for himself. Also, his rapid rise through the Villa ranks has seen himself play in the side’s reserve team at such an early age in his career.
Nevertheless, his arrival would only make him surplus to requirements at Old Trafford now. Hence, United should shy away from signing him, if not in the future, at least for the time being.
Solskjaer’s United already have a lot of promising youngsters in their ranks, who have performed well at the highest level. Williams and Greenwood are an example of that. Apart from them, they still have several waiting down the line. Hence, making a move for the 16-year-old Chukwuemeka seems unwise.
