Aston Villa academy product Carney Chukwuemeka is set to complete a loan move to Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund before tonight's transfer deadline passes - and in doing so he could even tee up a reunion with Villa in the next phase of the Champions League.

Bundesliga giants Dortmund are one of four potential opponents for Villa in the last 16 of European football's elite competition, along with Sporting Lisbon, Atalanta and Club Brugge - the latter who Villa have already met this season. Dortmund are closing in on the signing of Chukwuemeka, who has no immediate role to play under Enzo Maresca.

The 21 year old left Villa for Chelsea in the summer transfer window of 2022 for a fee in the region of £20m having lifted the FA Youth Cup in Villa colours in 2021. Things haven't worked out quite like Chukwuemeka, who joined Villa from Northampton initially, might've liked it at Chelsea, though.

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Two-and-a-half years after joining the club, and although Chukwuemeka has contended with injuries in that time, he has still only accumulated 32 appearances in all competitions - five of those have come this term, with one against Barrow in the EFL Cup and the remainder in the Europa Conference League.

Chukwuemeka, who is highly regarded in the England set up, was told in the aftermath of the summer transfer window by Maresca in no uncertain terms that he should've left the club while he had the chance, in order to spark his career back into life with many avenues to the Chelsea first-team blocked off.

"I will say exactly the same thing I have said many times: Carney is a very good player, but for the amount of players we have, we decided at the beginning of the season it is probably better to leave and go somewhere, prove himself and playing 30 or 35 games than being here and play less games," Maresca said at the time. "Unfortunately that didn't happen. He is our player."

Now, he is set to join Dortmund and in doing so could even set up a reunion with Villa which would involve a return to Villa Park in the event that Dortmund progressed and drew the Lions, who needn't worry about the play-off phase having finished in the top eight of the league phase last week.