Aston Villa are reportedly set to open talks with Rory Wilson over signing a new long-term deal to extend his stay at the club.
The 17-year-old joined us from Rangers last year, and he has certainly impressed thus far with 15 goals in nine appearances across all competitions at youth level so far this season.
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With his current contract set to run until June 2025, there doesn’t appear to be a major rush to agree new terms, but according to Fabrizio Romano, Villa are expected to begin discussions over a new five-year contract for the talented youngster.
It’s added that Wilson is attracting interest from ‘many clubs’, and so it would undoubtedly make sense from a Villa perspective to solidify our position with him and ensure he’s under contract for the foreseeable future.
The club’s youth set-up has produced a number of top talents in recent years, and while we always hope to see them make the eventual step up to the senior squad, there is also a business aspect to these decisions too.
As we saw with Cameron Archer, Aaron Ramsey and Jaden Philogene this past summer, Villa will sell our youngsters if the right offer comes in, albeit there are buy-back options included in those deals to ensure we have the capability of bringing them back if they go on to impress.
Time will tell if Wilson ultimately makes a breakthrough under Unai Emery or if he’s moved on, but given what he’s shown since joining the club, extending his contract is a sensible move either way.
In the more immediate future, it will be interesting to see what the club decide in terms of when they feel he’s ready to be sent out on loan to gain experience and aid his development to take the next step.
That could come next season, and it would follow a trend that we’ve adopted in recent times where we agree on a new contract before sending our youngsters out, and so that leaves us in a strong position when assessing our options the following year.