Still in Cloud Nine

It was a dream come true for Anglo-Nigeria midfielder, Carney Chukwuemeka after making his English Premier League debut for Aston Villa, making him the club’s third youngest player to star in the English top flight at 17 years, 211 days. The Nigeria- eligible however rue his effort that hit the post

Highly-rated midfielder of Nigerian descent, Carney Chukwuemeka on Wednesday made his English Premier League debut as Aston Villa came from behind to register a 2-1 victory against Tottenham Hotspur.
Chukwuemeka entered the game as a substitute in the 89th minute, replacing Marvelous Nakamba.
Wednesday’s clash was the sixth match that the 2003-born player has been named in a matchday squad for a Premier League game as he was previously a non-playing substitute against Leicester City, Manchester United, Manchester City, Everton and Crystal Palace.

Chukwuemeka, at 17 years, 211 days became Aston Villa’s third youngest Premier League player after Russian Hepburn-
Murphy (16 years, 198 days) and Gareth Barry (17 years, 68 days) .
He was inches away from a debut goal when he hit the post with a low strike from outside the box.
It is no surprise that manager Dean Smith handed a professional debut to Chukwuemeka as Aston Villa are keen to integrate him into the first team squad sooner rather than later in a bid to fend off interest from bigger teams interested in his signature.
Chukwuemeka is thrilled to have made his Premier League debut as Aston Villa took on Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.

The English midfielder of Nigerian origin described his maiden appearance in the English top-flight as the ‘proudest moment of his career’.
“It felt amazing,” Chukwuemeka was quoted by Aston Villa website.
“It’s every young footballer’s dream to make their Premier League debut and for me to do it was just a dream come true.
It’s the proudest moment of my career so far.”
The teenager almost capped his debut with a notable goal, however, his low strike from the edge of the penalty area rebounded off the foot of the Spurs post.
“As soon as the opportunity fell to me, I just thought ‘let me hit it and try my luck’,” he continued.
“Unluckily it hit the post, so next time maybe…”
Meanwhile, manager Smith is excited with the performance of his team against Ryan Mason’s side – lauding his players’
‘attitude’ as well as ‘quality’.
“I’m massively chuffed with the performance, the work rate, the attitude and the quality as well,” he said.
“We’ve had some performances like this throughout the season, Arsenal away, Liverpool at home…
“But there were a few questions thrown because it has been, and I can’t get away from it, it’s been an inconsistent second half of the season.
“But we’ve been missing our best player as well, in Jack Grealish.
“But I think, I believe, our first XI can go and compete with anyone and because it’s our second season, we will get stronger next season as well; these players are getting better and better.”

Aston Villa occupy the 11th spot in the English elite division log having accrued 52 points from 37 outings. They host Chelsea on the last day of the season.
For Chukwuemeka, he will be looking to cap a memorable season by helping Villa’s Young Lions lift the FA Youth Cup Final on Monday against Liverpool.
Meanwhile, German newspaper Bild, has reported that there are several top European clubs interested in Aston Villa’s Anglo-Nigerian midfielder.

Manchester City and Manchester United were previously linked with a move for the England youth international.
Barcelona and Paris St. Germain also want to sign Chukwuemeka, who has likened himself to Red Devils star Paul Pogba.
It has been suggested that Aston Villa could cash in on the 17-year-old if they receive a bid in the region of 15 million euros.
The aforementioned clubs must compete with Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig for the services of Chukwuemeka.
The former Northampton Town schoolboy made his professional debut for Aston Villa in their 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, coming off the bench to replace Marvelous Nakamba in the closing minutes.

In the current season, Chukwuemeka scored eight goals and provided five assists for Aston Villa’s youth teams.
He is arguably the standout player in this season’s FA Youth Cup, helping Aston Villa reach Monday’s final against Liverpool after mustering six goals in four matches.