Fortget paying £103M: Liverpool can take advantage of stalled contract talks to sign the 'next Jude Bellingham'

Liverpool have been chasing Jude Bellingham all summer to no avail but they could turn their interest to the supposed 'next Jude Bellingham' in Carney Chukwuemeka.

The Aston Villa youngster was vital as part of the team that won the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championships this summer.

Boasting interest from Barcelona, Manchester City, Juventus and a host of other top clubs in Europe, the young midfielder is set to be a wanted man.

With Liverpool chasing midfield targets this summer, Chukwuemeka could emerge as a low-cost option who is one of England's best young players coming through the youth set-up.

He provided insight from Villa manager Steven Gerrard on the situation: "Carney is yet to sign a contract offer that has been in place for some time. I've decided the best thing would be to continue his training programme.”

Chukwuemeka (18) has one year left on his deal and if he doesn't agree a renewal before January then Villa could risk him leaving on a free next summer.

He could jump at the chance to move to a bigger club like Liverpool, especially with Klopp a renowned coach for developing young talent.

Although he could take inspiration from Jacob Ramsey who has broken through at Villa to much acclaim in midfield under Gerrard after coming through the academy.

More of a goal-scoring box-to-box type midfielder, signing him would be a move for the future.

The Reds will have to battle it out with most of Europe for his signature with Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal, Newcastle as well as Bayern Munich, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid also monitoring his situation.

Chukwuemeka was born in Austria to Nigerian parents and was raised in Northampton, England and has represented England at youth level from U15 up to U19 so far.