Why Aston Villa should sign Caleb Chukwuemeka as one for the future
According to the Daily Mail, Aston Villa are among a host of clubs interested in completing a deal for highly-rated teenage striker Caleb Chukwuemeka, who currently plies his trade with Northampton Town.
The 18-year-old has also attracted interest from Championship outfit Norwich City while Belgian giants Club Brugge are also understood to be hot on the trail of the youngster. (h/t Daily Mail)
As per the report, Chukwuemeka has already turned down the opportunity to sign his first professional contract with the League One club after bagging an astonishing 16 goals and 14 assists for Northampton’s U-18 side last season.
The teenager’s contract situation has put a number of clubs on red alert, with Aston Villa apparently leading the chase. The Midlands outfit already have Caleb’s brother, Carney, on their books, and are now looking to reunite the siblings at Bodymoor Heath.
Aston Villa have already completed some fruitful business in the summer market after somehow managing to preserve their Premier League status last season. Dean Smith’s brigade have already grabbed the headlines with their double raid on the Championship for highly-rated pair Matty Cash and Ollie Watkins from Nottingham Forest and Brentford respectively.
It remains to be seen whether Smith opts to bring in a few more fresh faces before the summer deadline in October. Regardless of that, however, the Villans should be on the lookout for market opportunities to bolster their U-23 ranks with one eye on the future.
To that end, Aston Villa should definitely go all out to capitalise on the availability of Caleb Chukwuemeka this summer. The 18-year-old is yet to make the transition to the senior professional level but his prolific record at the youth level suggests that the teenager could be a future star in the making.
Dean Smith has shown that he is not hesitant to promote youngsters from the academy to the first-team, as evident from the rise of Indiana Vassilev last season. The United States starlet made 7 appearances for Villa in all competitions last term, having caught the eye for the club’s U-23 side.
With that in mind, Chukwuemeka could also get his chance to impress at the highest level if a move to Villa Park does materialise this summer.
The Midlands giants released young forward Colin Odutayo from their U-23s earlier this summer. And an exciting prospect like Caleb Chukwuemeka seems more than capable of taking his place. Moreover, it will be interesting to see him link up with other quality attacking talents like Cameron Archer and Michael Tait in the club’s youth ranks.
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Verdict
It’s hard to predict whether Caleb Chukwuemeka would be able to cut it out in the Premier League moving forward, given that he is yet to make the step up to the senior level. However, he is still very much in his developmental phase and has enough time to make significant improvements to his game.
All in all, the 18-year-old’s record at the youth level is truly eye-watering, thus making him worth a punt for Aston Villa.
