Carney Chukwuemeka is in dreamland at Chelsea as he looks forward to a reunion with his former club, Aston Villa.
The 18-year-old made his first Blues appearance last Saturday against Wolves and will be hoping to add to that on Sunday, when he faces the team he left in the summer to join Chelsea for £20million.
Chukwuemeka is fighting for every chance he can get to shine in Graham Potter’s all-star squad.
A possible January loan move could be on the cards for Chukwuemeka but for now, at least, Chelsea believe being around the first-team squad is the best place for him to understand what it takes to make it at Stamford Bridge.
For a kid who grew up supporting Chelsea, motivation is no issue.
“It feels amazing. I’ve dreamed of playing for the club I supported growing up, so for it to happen is a dream come true,” he said.
“I thank God, all my team-mates, my family and the gaffer for trusting me. The Chelsea fans have been really supporting me since I joined and the reception from them [when I came on against Wolves] gave me a boost.
“Before coming on, he [Potter] told me to express myself, to play how I have been in training and to play with a smile. I think I did that so it was good.”
Villa had hoped to keep Chukwuemeka, who made 16 first-team appearances for them. After rejecting a final contract offer which would have made him one of the highest-paid teenage players in the world at £100,000 a week, Villa knew they would lose their homegrown star.
Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly floated the idea of a deal for Chukwuemeka, who had also been attracting interest from Barcelona and AC Milan, at an informal Premier League meeting with Villa chief executive Christian Purslow. They eventually agreed on a deal which blew the best previous offer of just £3m from an overseas club.
The real work starts now for Chukwuemeka, who will split his time between the Under-23s and the first team.
He is aware that he has to be open about his pathway to stardom and that he might have to accept loan moves while he bides his time.
Yet that choice to leave Villa and join the club he supported puts him closer to his dream of being a regular starter for Chelsea at the highest level.
