Paul Merson told Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports (28/08/21 at 5:15 pm) that Carney Chukwuemeka will become ‘an absolute star’ after Aston Villa’s 1-1 draw with Brentford.
The 17-year-old was handed his first Premier League start by Dean Smith and Merson claimed that he was ‘outstanding’.
With John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey suffering late COVID issues, Smith had to make changes to his XI on Friday, including bringing in Villa’s highly-rated teenager.
But despite his young age, Merson made it clear that Chukwuemeka didn’t look out of place on the big stage.
“You look at the positives,” said Merson. “The young kid, Chukwuemeka was very good.
“He has got a bright future. I don’t see a lot of the kid’s football. First-half, he was outstanding. He was gliding across the pitch.
“17-years-old, you are playing in the Premier League in the centre of midfield. I mean that’s a big ask.
“He will be an absolute star. He glides across the pitch. He is a nice size. He gets on the ball. He looks for it and makes runs without the ball. I think Villa fans going away will definitely be talking about him.”
Chukwuemeka’s ability to turn into and find space with the ball, make brilliant use of the ball and use his physicality to drive the ball forward was all on show yesterday.
It also needs to be remembered that he was thrown in at the last minute and he wasn’t exactly playing in the most balanced of Villa midfields.
Ashley Young had to play in the middle of the park, so if Chukwuemeka can perform like that without a natural player beside him then imagine what he can do when the team is in full flow?
The likes of Tyrone Mings, McGinn, Morgan Sanson, Leon Bailey, Ramsey, Ollie Watkins, Trezeguet and Bertrand Traore didn’t feature against Brentford or start because of various issues.
That’s a lot of first-team players, so Smith won’t yet know how his team will really fare during this post-Grealish era.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
