Even though Aston Villa have been active in the current January transfer window in bringing new players into the club such as Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne, it seems as though there are still some question marks over the future of one of the current players in Steven Gerrard's squad that could have some fans sweating.

What's the news?

In a recent online Q&A from Birmingham Live, Villa journalist Ashley Preece was asked what the current situation is regarding Carney Chukwuemeka after it was previously reported by The Guardian that the midfielder will not be signing a new deal at the Midlands club due to lack of regular first-team action.

In response, Preece had this to say on the matter.

"I've since quizzed Gerrard on this and it's clear that the manager wants him to stay. He's got 18 months left on his current deal - there will be some big hitters from Europe who'll be keen to take him. Gerrard is urging him to commit his future to Villa."

Fans sweating

Considering the teenager's considerable potential at Villa Park, this situation is likely to leave plenty of supporters of the club sweating about his future.

The 18-year-old, who has worked his way through Villa's youth ranks, has made a total of 63 appearances for the club's senior and youth sides, scoring 13 goals and providing 14 assists in the process.

Out of those 63 appearances, ten of them have come in Villa's senior side with six of them coming this season in the Premier League.

Even though he's made five appearances for Villa since Gerrard was appointed as Villa manager back in mid-November, all of them have been off the substitutes bench, showing why Chukwuemeka may have some concerns about his playing time if he feels he's ready to be a regular starter for the team.

The fact that Gerrard is apparently urging the midfielder to sign a new deal at Villa shows just how much he rates him and wants to keep the youngster in his squad and why the fans would be concerned by the current situation the player has put himself in.

The best outcome in this situation would be for Gerrard to convince Chukwuemeka to sign a new deal at Villa and put to bed any speculation about his future.

However, if this were to happen, the Villa boss would have to make sure he gets sufficient playing time so that he doesn't become unhappy and then run the risk of seeing the club lose one of their brightest young prospects.

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