Carney Chukwuemeka told to 'stay' at Aston Villa amid Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund links

Former Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has instructed Carney Chukwuemeka to 'stay' at the club and earn a place in Steven Gerrard's starting lineup next season.

Chukwuemeka is yet to commit his long-term future to the club after turning 18 last October which has since put clubs such as Barcelona, Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund on red alert regarding the future of the midfielder.

The prospect has also grabbed the attention of the footballing world following two dominant performances in England's opening fixtures of the U19 European Championships this summer. Across the two games played so far, Chukwuemeka has recorded two goals and two assists as he consistently displays a high level of composure in front of goal and a keen eye for a pass to create for his teammates.

Speaking to Football Insider, former Villan Gabby Agbonlahor has commented on the future of Chukwuemeka, where he instructed him to remain at the club and attempt to replicate Jacob Ramsey's rise into the first team. He said: "It’s a difficult situation for Aston Villa and it’s come harder and harder with agents and stuff.

"It might be a situation where Aston Villa have to say ‘We’re going to let you go because we’re not going to be bullied into giving you money which you don’t deserve yet’. When I was 19 and got into the first-team, Martin O’Neill said ‘Ok, here’s £10,000-a-week’ then in the contract was if you had 35 starts, there was a renegotiation straight away.

“After a year, I got it and I got a new contract. After a year, that contract was ripped up and I got a new one. I was getting a new contract every year or two because I was hitting the amount of starts I needed.

“That’s maybe what they are doing with young players but maybe