'He is the real deal' - Expert view on Manchester United-linked midfielder of Nigerian descent

Aston Villa journalist Gregg Evans has urged Premier League side Aston Villa to fast-track talented England youth international of Nigerian descent Carney Chukwuemeka into the first-team fold following his imperious display in the quarterfinals of the FA Youth Cup this week.

Chukwuemeka enhanced his burgeoning reputation with a hat-trick and provided an assist as Aston Villa U18s demolished Newcastle United 6-1 to progress to the last four.

The 17-year-old is on the fringes of Aston Villa's first team, having made the matchday squads for Premier League games against Leicester City and Manchester City this year.

Speaking on the Athletic podcast (via thisisfutbol) , Evans said : "He is the real deal, I wrote about him this week and there is no hiding behind it now, he is the real deal.

"He's pushing for first-team involvement and if Villa don't give him that, then there are plenty of clubs in Europe waiting to see whether they can be given the opportunity to give him those minutes."

Although the hot prospect inked a professional contract with Aston Villa six months ago, the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City are keeping tabs on the teenager with a view to a possible swoop.

"Before he signed his deal in October, pretty much every club in Europe wanted him, every big club in Europe; Man United, Man City and Liverpool were all interested, there were clubs in Italy and Germany, clubs in France, Monaco were very keen to take him and all of these clubs on the continent basically said to him, 'If you come to our club, then we will give you that fast-tracking into the first team'.

"Villa, I'm understood, said that they would match that and that they would also offer a route into the first team.

"Okay, so Carney's been on the bench once this season, you know that that's a positive sign for a 17-year-old still, but I think he's at the stage where he’s kind of waiting to kick on now because that's what he was told alongside a lot of the other youngsters," Evans added.

Chukwuemeka has been a player of Aston Villa since 2016 when he made the move from Northampton Town.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel