da doce： Aston Villa have seen a significant rise in their performance since the arrival of Unai Emery last season, with the Spaniard implementing a raised level of targets for his squad at Villa Park.
da luck： The former Arsenal boss took the Villans from 16th in the Premier League table to 7th in his first term as manager, inspiring the club to qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League after just seven months in charge.
The 51-year-old paired his side’s impressive form by delivering an equally as impressive transfer window, welcoming five new faces to the Midlands boasting star quality.
Despite the track records of some of the new signings being impeccable, it hasn’t worked out as swimmingly as hoped so far for one capture in particular, as Youri Tielemans finds himself in a rut both performance and game time wise.
Over the years, the Villans have had an abundance of impressive midfielders, particularly those stemming from the academy, pointing to one name that got away from the club who could have been the ideal alternative to Tielemans.
How long was Carney Chukwuemeka at Aston Villa?
A product of Bodymoor Heath, midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka arrived in the Midlands aged 12 from Northampton Town and developed his career with Villa for six years.
From 12 to 18-years-old, the Austrian-born talent climbed through the ranks before making his Premier League debut in the 2020/21 campaign which eased him into the surroundings of senior football at the top level.
The following season, Chukwuemeka made 12 Premier League appearances and made his mark on the first team, a talent that surfaced too loudly for the Villans’ to suppress interest from elsewhere.
In the summer of 2022 at just 18-years-old, the midfielder signed for Chelsea in a blockbuster £20m deal for someone his age, telling of just how highly-regarded his talents were at the time.
Who are Aston Villa’s most valuable academy graduates?
The £20m sale of Chukwuemeka added him to a list of some valuable academy graduates that have spawned from Bodymoor Heath.
Jack Grealish is the most notable profit delivering sale, as he made the £100m move from his boyhood club to Manchester City in 2021, and is still regarded as Villa’s most valuable academy graduate at present.
As per Transfermarkt, the Englishman is currently valued at €75m (£65m), followed by Jacob Ramsey at €42m (£36m) and Chukwuemeka in third with a value of €15m (£13m) to represent Villa’s present day most valuable academy products.
Why did Aston Villa sell Chukwuemeka?
Considering his worth and rise to form on the pitch, it’s difficult to understand why Villa allowed a budding teen as much of a prospect as the 19-year-old to depart.
The situation is believed to be that the midfielder was nearing the end of his contract, and had no intention of signing a new deal with his priority being consistent game time in the next stages of his career.
A report from Sky Sports named Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona as club’s from abroad that had eyeballed a potential swoop for the teen, who was eventually sold to the Blues for a healthy fee of £20m, handing Villa a fitting profit.
At the point of his departure, Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol relayed the belief that Chukwuemeka was “one of the best young players in England”, leading on from his role in England U19’s European Championship win that summer.
While a £20m profit for a teenager with just 16 senior appearances seemed like a good deal for Villa at the time, it’s now apparent that the Englishman could have thrived under Emery if he was more willing to stay.
What is Chukwuemeka doing now?
Since leaving Villa’s academy, it’s been a difficult road for the teen, who joined the Blues at a treacherous time in the club’s history, as they continue to try and rediscover their identity amid managerial and board changes and an influx of personnel.
In his first term with the west Londoners, Chukwuemeka made 14 appearances in the Premier League, and started this season in dreamland under Mauricio Pochettino as he netted his first goal for the club in their new era under the Argentine.
After two appearances in the opening two games of the season, the teenager’s trajectory was stopped in its tracks as he sustained a knee injury against West Ham United during the fixture he scored in.
After requiring surgery to ease the issue, it was suggested that the midfielder would miss six weeks of action, tarnishing his fast start to the 2023/24 campaign.
Despite being struck down by injury, the 19-year-old showed glimpses of just how far his talents can go in the middle of the park, as highlighted by his statistics obtained over the past year.
What could Chukwuemeka have offered to Emery’s side?
Previously dubbed a “superstar in the making” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, there are many elements that Villa could have had in keeping hold of the wantaway academy star.
While at the time a future at Villa Park was not envisioned by the player or club, in hindsight the Villans could have saved millions by maintaining the midfielder over funding others in that position.
This week, it became apparent just how much the youngster could have assisted Emery on his quest for progression, with reference to the poor midfield performances during Villa’s league cup defeat to Everton on Wednesday evening.
While Tielemans arrived with no upfront cost as a free-agent this summer, the Belgian is earning a hefty £150k-per-week and is yet to show his worth, as reinforced by podcaster Dan Rolinson who described the star as “largely anonymous” in claret and blue so far.
The former Leicester City whiz recorded an abysmal 5.9 Sofascore match rating against the Blues this week, making his claim for game time incomprehensible as he waits for his full Premier League debut under Emery.
With reference to Chukwuemeka, the midfielder has shown levels exceeding those of Tielemans over the past year, as communicated by FBref.
Representing Chelsea, the Englishman averages a pass completion rate of 87.9% per 90, as well as making 4.32 progressive carries 5.07 progressive passes per 90 over the past year.
In comparison, Tielemans noted a higher rate of progressive passes with an average of 6.36 per 90, however, fell massively short of the teenager with 1.41 progressive carries and a pass completion rate of 79.1% per 90, via FBref.
Things don’t always work out as planned in football, as highlighted by Villa’s loss of Chukwuemeka after his work in the academy, as well as the lacklustre from Tielemans in the early days of his Villa Park career.
The form of the two midfielders suggests that Emery could have had a far better option in the Bodymoor Heath starlet rather than their £150k-per-week new arrival, with hindsight declaring their respective impact.