Carney Chukwuemeka’s big gamble, Dean Henderson’s fury, and the Lionesses break the internet – The Warm-Up

WEDNESDAY’S BIG STORIES Chelsea for Chuk Ad/> A bolt from the blue from the Blues yesterday saw Chelsea confirm they’ve reached an agreement with Aston Villa to sign 18-year-old Carney Chukwuemeka, with the Telegraph reporting he will become the highest-paid teenager in English football. TransfersChukwuemeka set for Chelsea medical, Slonina signs six-year contract12 HOURS AGO That may feel like a just reward for a player who was integral to England’s U19 Euros triumph last month, but what exactly awaits in the short term is not entirely clear.

There was a sense at Villa that Chukwuemeka was shuffling his way down the drive and ready to knock on the door of regular starts, but arguably that prospect is further away at Chelsea given the players on show at Stamford Bridge. Of course, if teams like Barcelona, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund are also interested, it is in Chelsea’s best interests to act quick, but it seems more likely that a loan spell at Vitesse – or elsewhere – awaits Chukwuemeka.

No bad thing, but if he was on the cusp of potentially tripling his Premier League appearance numbers (14 so far) with Villa then the experience he gets elsewhere may well be inferior. Only time will tell, but evidently that was a concern for Villa boss Steven Gerrard, who is pretty well placed as a one-time teenage sensation himself, debuting for Liverpool at 18 back in 1998.

«We believe this is the right place for him. If anyone else thinks it's not, then I would like to sit in front of them and discuss it,” Gerrard had said last month, before adding perhaps the most striking note: “We just need to let the kid play football.” Let’s see, shall we.