Aston Villa are lining up a long-term deal for a bright young gem at Villa Park as Unai Emery looks to the future in the West Midlands, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
Aston Villa fall to defeat at Forest
Despite sitting fifth in the Premier League with 22 points on the board from their opening 11 fixtures, Aston Villa fell to their first defeat in all competitions since late September, with goals from Ola Aina and Orel Mangala sealing their fate away to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Pundit Dion Dublin slammed his old side for the role that Emery's high line played in their eventual downfall in Nottingham, stating to Match of the Day 2 via Birmingham Live: "Villa’s high line, for me, is absolutely ridiculous. They have been brilliant of late, let’s get it right – one of the form teams and Unai Emery has done great – however, when you play a high line one yard away from the halfway line, you’re going to be in trouble more often than not."
Left to rue their own individual errors, Aston Villa boss Emery refused to be too downtrodden when discussing the loss in his post-match press conference, telling Sky Sports via Nottinghamshire Live: "It is very hard to accept the result. We made some mistakes. We conceded early, but for another 80 minutes we played with a good mentality, to try and score."
He then added: "The second half they scored another early goal. After this we were controlling the game, creating chances and getting corners. It is very difficult when the other team score first. They defended deeply."
The Villans will have a chance to rectify the outcome against Nottingham Forest on Thursday, where they face AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League at Villa Park, where a win will put Aston Villa in a great position to progress to the knockout phase of the competition.
Aston Villa's next five fixtures – all competitions
Competition
Opponent
Venue
Europa Conference League
AZ Alkmaar (H)
Villa Park
Premier League
Fulham (H)
Villa Park
Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur (A)
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Europa Conference League
Legia Warsaw (H)
Villa Park
Premier League
Bournemouth (A)
Vitality Stadium
Aston Villa prepare contract talks with Rory Wilson
According to transfer expert Romano, Aston Villa are now preparing discussions with young star Rory Wilson over a new long-term deal at Villa Park.
Taking to social media platform X, he stated: "Excl: Aston Villa are prepared to discuss new five-year contract for 2006 born striker Rory Wilson. #AVFC want to extend his stay beyond summer 2025. Wilson has scored 15 goals in 9 games so far this season, he’s on the radar of many clubs."
Wilson joined Aston Villa from Rangers in the summer of 2022 and received high praise from former Villans academy manager Mark Harrison, who said of the youngster upon his arrival: "He is a goalscorer with a lot of potential, having also represented Scotland at international youth level."
Ringing true, the Girvan-born man has notched 11 goals in his first seven appearances in the Under-18 Premier League and now looks likely to be rewarded for his exciting potential (Wilson statistics – Transfermarkt).
