Highly-rated youngster Carney Chukwuemeka has been left out of Aston Villa's pre-season tour to Australia amid an ongoing contract standoff, with the Englishman down to the final year in his current deal at Villa Park and as of yet refusing to extend his terms with the Villans.
Named in the team of the tournament as England lifted the U19 European Championships earlier this month, the 18-year-old central midfielder is thought of very highly by those within the game, and has already made his senior debut for Steven Gerrard's side, appearing 14 times last campaign.
However, he is out of contract next summer, and is yet to sign a new deal, which led to the Villa boss leaving him at home when naming his squad to take down under for their match with Manchester United.
"Carney is yet to sign a contract offer that has been in place for some time", Gerrard explained. "I've decided the best thing would be to continue his training programmeโ.
Barcelona among those interested
Among those interested in signing the youngster should he leave Villa in 12 months' time are Catalan giants Barcelona, who already have plenty of talent in their midfield in the form of young duo Pedri and Gavi.
There is also thought to be plenty of interest from across Europe and within the Premier League, with Arsenal one of the sides mentioned previously.