The 18-year-old came on as a substitute in the 2-1 loss to Manchester City on Wednesday, after reports the youngster was considering rejecting a new contract with the club over concerns over entering the club. the first XI.

And Gerrard insisted that Villa is the right place for the youngster to develop, saying: “I think we just have to let the kid play football, let him evolve, let him grow.

“I think we showed what we think of the child (Wednesday night), showed our belief and our confidence in him at this level of play.” You can see the profile and the talent, but my work and that of the staff is to do everything around this talent to improve, grow and have a better understanding of the game.

“But we think this is the right place for him and if anyone else thinks it’s not, I’d like to sit across from them and discuss it because it’s a local boy and take advantage of it. ” The boss added: “He has enjoyed the last two weeks – I spoke to him face to face and we told him that if he keeps playing he will really be in the first team so I don’t ‘I don’t. not anticipate a problem and I certainly don’t want a problem brewing in the background, and for me, I don’t think it will.

Chukwuemeka almost took a share of the points late in the game when he forced a superb save from Ederson late.

And Gerrard said, “It would have been too good to be true, you appeal to an 18 year old and a big moment comes along.

“But the reason we put him on is because we believe in him and we trust him.

“He’s a fantastic talent and he still has a lot of growth and evolution to do for him and it’s important that we give him that support and that we give him the environment to continue to evolve.

“But you can see his profile, you can see his quality – he didn’t mind when he came in. I know he will be thinking about that luck all night because I’ve been there myself.” , but he’ll score a lot of goals for Aston Villa, he’ll create a lot because he’s that type of talent.

“I think we showed our confidence and confidence in him by calling on him because he was a big substitution, but we thought he would have this opportunity.”