Aston Villa won 2-0 away at Newcastle United over the weekend. Emi Buendia and Ollie Watkins got their goals in the North East against the Toon Army. They are now four points behind Arsenal in the Premier League table.
Unai Emery’s side are still in the title race against the odds along with the Gunners and Manchester City. They have enjoyed an eye-catching season and have been very consistent. The Midlands outfit will want to keep their momentum going for as long as possible.
Aston Villa eye Fulham winger Harry Wilson
Aston Villa are being linked with a move for Fulham winger Harry Wilson. According to CaughtOffside, they are admirers of the attacker this winter. However, they face competition from the likes of Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Everton, Crystal Palace and Brentford.
Wilson, 28, could be seen by Emery as someone to bolster his attacking department. If he joined, he would offer more competition and depth at the top end of the pitch. He is out of contract at the end of the season and is due to become a free agent in June.
The Wales international, who has 67 caps to his name, has made 26 appearances in all competitions in this campaign and has chipped in with nine goals and five assists. He has been on the books of Fulham since joining them in 2021. The attacker has become one of their most prized assets under the guidance of Marco Silva.
Silva has admitted his side are in a ‘fight’ to keep him and has said: “We are in the fight, we are trying to keep him. If you ask me if it’s going to be easy, I say it’s not going to be easy. The more he scores, many more clubs are going to be around him. This is football business. When a player goes to the end of his contract, this kind of thing is going to happen. I know he’s happy in our club and how much he’s enjoying the moment. It’s up to the club to do the maximum to keep him.”
Aston Villa should propose swap deal with Fulham for Harry Wilson
Aston Villa face strong competition from elsewhere in pursuit of Wilson. Therefore, they need to think outside the box to try and land him. With that in mind, they should consider a swap deal including Ross Barkley to try and tempt Fulham into selling before the deadline on Monday 2nd February.
Barkley, 32, is said to be on the radar of Sheffield United, as per Football Insider. His long-term future at Villa Park is up in the air right now and he has struggled with injury issues over recent times. Therefore, cutting ties with him before the end of the January window would be a sensible move.
His deal runs out when this term ends. However, there is an option to keep hold of him until 2027 if needed. Prior to his move, he had spells with the likes of Everton, Chelsea, OGC Nice and Luton Town.
Barkley is an experienced operator at the top level and is a useful person to have in and around the dressing room at Aston Villa. However, he isn’t getting any younger and offloading him would free up space and funds in their ranks to pave the way for Wilson. The Merseyside-born man wouldn’t be a bad option for Fulham if he went there and he could plug a gap for them for six months.
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