Thomas confirms Cobblers will benefit from Chukwuemeka's move from Aston Villa to Chelsea

Cobblers are set to financially benefit from Carney Chukwuemeka’s move from Aston Villa to Chelsea during the summer transfer window, chairman Kelvin Thomas has confirmed.

Chukwuemeka, who is considered one of the brightest young talents in Europe, left Northampton’s academy for Aston Villa under the EPPP scheme as a 12-year-old.

He played 16 times for Aston Villa’s first-team but made the £20million switch to Stamford Bridge shortly before the summer window closed. According to EPPP rules, Cobblers will receive a portion of the fee, potentially as much as £1million depending on various clauses, although payments will be spread out over several years.

“It was a good deal and we are really pleased for Carney,” said Thomas. “As owners, we invest a lot in to the academy to fund it each year anyway.

"We cannot comment on numbers involved with the Carney transaction as there are strict confidentiality clauses attached to EPPP deals however the money will be spread over a number of seasons.

"We will take a view at the time on how it is to be used, and for example it may well go to the training ground improvements or something else, but either way the Academy is important to us and will continue to be funded.”