Aston Villa were linked with a move for Nico Williams in the January transfer window but were rejected in their efforts, and a reliable source has now made a claim on the club’s potential pursuit of the player in the summer.
What’s the latest?
When asked about the prospect of Villa getting a deal done for the Athletic Bilbao attacker later this year, Peter O’Rourke told Football FanCast:
“Yeah he’s a real top young player for Athletic Bilbao, also for Spain as well, he played at the last World Cup.
“So yeah, he has a huge potential, a number of Premier League clubs have looked at him in the past and it looks like he has all the attributes to be a success in the Premier League.”
Big Coutinho upgrade
There is no doubt that Unai Emery will be exploring his options when it comes to identifying the right players to fit his philosophy for the future at Villa Park, and strengthening the attacking threat will surely be a huge part of his plans to improve performances.
With Danny Ings’ departure last month and only 25 goals scored in their first 21 games in the Premier League so far this season, there is certainly an opportunity to bring in players who can spark more creativity and chances in front of goal.
As a result, signing Williams would be an incredible piece of business for the Villans this summer in their ambitious efforts to push for a return to European football sooner rather than later.
Across 20 La Liga appearances in the current campaign, the 20-year-old has scored three goals, registered four assists and created three big chances, along with averaging 1.3 key passes, 1.8 shots, 1.6 successful dribbles and 3.8 successful dribbles per game, proving to be an effective attacking presence on the pitch.
In fact, Emery could land a huge Philippe Coutinho upgrade, with the Brazilian attacker clearly falling out of favour in the new manager’s set-up at Villa Park, tallying no more than 45 minutes per league appearance since the former Arsenal boss took charge at Halloween.
When comparing the respective outputs of the positional peers so far this season, Williams has outperformed Coutinho in many attributes, including goal contributions (7 v 0), shots on target rate (33.3% v 31.6%), shot-creating actions (62 v 23), progressive passes (50 v 45) and aerial duel success rate (37.5% v 20%).
The versatile Spanish attacker – who was dubbed “phenomenal” by Jacek Kulig – reportedly has a release clause of £50m; and with Coutinho linked with a move away from Villa Park in the summer, the Bilbao talent could be the perfect player in whom to reinvest in order to replace the ex-Liverpool playmaker.
If Emery could secure the services of Williams in the summer, it would give Aston Villa a huge boost ahead of next season when it comes to the creativity and attacking threat in the team.
