Aston Villa are reportedly plotting a move to sign soon-to-be free agent Spanish winger Nico Williams from Athletic Club in the upcoming winter transfer window.
According to Friday’s edition of the Catalan newspaper Sport (via Sport Witness), Aston Villa will be among the sides at the front of the queue to land Athletic Club Williams if he becomes available in January.
The Villains are enjoying a strong start to the 2023–24 season, with Unai Emery’s side currently riding high in fifth place in the Premier League heading into the November international break.
Emery took over a club that, at the time were nervously looking over their shoulders at the Premier League relegation zone. However, the 51-year-old has done a stellar job at the Midlands giants, steering them to a seventh-place finish last time to secure an exciting return to European competition in the UEFA Conference League.
The best, however, could yet come at Villa Park. They are also among the favourites to win the Conference League, and Friday’s 2-1 victory over AZ Alkmaar puts them in pole position to reach the knockout rounds.
To further their case for a potential top-four finish and to manage their workload of competing on multiple fronts, Villa will clearly need a better, stronger squad. Emery did manage to attract Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby to the club over the summer; the two costly imports markedly improved Emery’s upwardly mobile squad.
Despite Leon Bailey’s positive start to the season, with six goals and five assists to his name from 16 competitive outings, it seems Emery is looking out for another option to play alongside Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby in attack, and they continue to be persistently linked with Athletic Bilbao star Williams.
Villa previously registered an interest in the winger prior to the signing of Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen, as Emery looked prepared to trigger the £45 million release clause after holding talks with the player.
The move failed to materialise, but Villa could now look to revisit a deal for the Spain international as they look to bolster their attacking options. It’s also suggested that they are even willing to pay a “reasonable transfer fee” to bring the player to Villa Park this January.
Williams will enter the final six months of his Athletic Bilbao deal at the turn of the year, and he will be able to sign a pre-contract agreement with a club outside Spain at the turn of the year.
The 21-year-old has shone since breaking into the first team at Bilbao and is regarded as one of La Liga’s best young talents, having struck nine times in 43 appearances last season and boasting five goal involvements in the current one. He has also earned 10 caps for Spain since his senior debut in 2022, scoring twice.
Needless to say, it would be a massive coup for Emery and Villa if they could convince him to put pen to paper and form a new part of a devastating attacking trio at Villa Park. Having said that, the Lions’ could face stiff competition from La Liga giants Barcelona, who are said to be interested in signing the winger as a free agent.
