Gerrard has little choice to sell Chukwuemeka

Carney Chukwuemeka looks on his way out of Aston Villa this summer as he’s out of contract in 2023 and won’t put pen to paper to an extension. The 18-year-old made 15 appearances last season but amassed only 415 minutes of playing time across the board.

Chukwuemeka finds himself behind John McGinn, Marvelous Nakamba and Douglas Luiz in the pecking order and may resent an academy graduate such as Jacob Ramsey keeping him out the starting lineup – the 21-year-old has been a regular under Steven Gerrard and thrived with consistent playing time.

Jude Bellingham was a promising talent at Birmingham City and became an instant star at Borussia Dortmund, so Chukwuemeka might feel the grass is greener on the other side too. Connor Andrews of talkSPORT says the 18-year-old has interest from Newcastle United, Barcelona, Manchester City, Dortmund and Manchester United.

Villa are resigned to losing Chukwuemeka, so Andrews says they’re willing to accept £20m to sell now rather than lose him for nothing. It’s not an ideal situation as Gerrard would prefer to keep the midfielder. But it makes sense to cash in while he still has value, rather than let him go on a free transfer.

In other news, Ezri Konsa returns from injury but may be dropped for Diego Carlos