The former Northampton Town junior Carney Chukwuemeka has moved from Aston Villa to Chelsea in a multi-million pound transfer.

Chukwuemeka, 18, moves from Villa Park to Stamford Bridge for a fee reported to be around £20million, and has signed a six year contract with the 2021 Champions League winners.

The midfielder had starred for the England team that won the under-19 European Championships earlier this summer, but had been in a contract dispute with Aston Villa with his contract having been due to expire at the end of the upcoming season.

Earlier in his career, Chukwuemeka spent time at Sixfields, having been raised in the area after moving to England as a child. He would move from Northampton to Aston Villa while still a youth player in 2016.

His older brother, Caleb Chukwuemeka, moved from Northampton to Aston Villa last year, and remains in the Villain’s youth set-up.

After making his Premier League debut as a substitute against Spurs in 2021 and helping Villa win the FA Youth Cup, Chukwuemeka made 13 appearances in all competitions last season for the Villa senior squad.

In a statement to the Chelsea website, Chukwuemeka voiced his delight to make the move to West London.

He said, “It’s been quite hectic but I couldn’t get Chelsea out of my head the last few days so I’m just happy and relieved that it’s all done.

“I’m so excited and just can’t wait to get on the pitch, meet all the players and try to win games and trophies with Chelsea.”

The move sees Chukwuemeka follow England international Raheem Sterling and highly regarded Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly into the West London club.