AVFC dealt big blow on "intelligent" rarely-seen 19 y/o, he could have been Carney 2.0 - opinion

Even though Aston Villa may have had a fairly impressive January transfer window in terms of the business they completed throughout the month, it seems as though they’ve now been dealt a blow in their apparent chase to sign one of the Premier League’s most promising young talents.

After being linked with a move for Manchester City midfielder James McAtee during the recent January transfer window among many other clubs also vying for his signature, Villa and those other clubs have now been dealt a big blow in their future attempts to sign the 19-year-old.

That’s after he recently put pen to paper on a new long-term deal at the Manchester club on Wednesday evening.

In 81 appearances for City’s youth sides, McAtee has managed to rack up 42 goals and 26 assists, highlighting the clear attacking talents he has and presumably why so many clubs were apparently after him last month.

This also shows how disappointed and gutted Villa manager Steven Gerrard will be at missing out on having a young talent like McAtee in his ranks.

Described as an “intelligent” player in the past by City academy coach Brian Barry-Murphy, he could have been the perfect replacement for current Villa teenager Carney Chukwuemeka with the future of his time at Villa Park in doubt.

Now that the midfielder has pledged his future to the reigning league champions and current leaders until 2026, this could put an end to the possibility of the Midlands side or any other team signing him on a permanent basis in the immediate future.

However, with the teenager only making three senior appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side across all competitions so far this season, all coming from the substitutes bench, there’s every chance that a loan move away where he’d be able