Aston Villa Pursue Aaron Wan-Bissaka for Right-Back Position

Unai Emery has drawn a thick red circle around one position this summer: right-back.

Aston Villa’s manager wants a squad that can absorb the strain of Champions League nights, domestic cups and another tilt at the Premier League’s top four. To get there, he believes Matty Cash needs serious competition, not just cover. That search has pushed Aaron Wan-Bissaka to the top of Villa’s shortlist, with the 28-year-old viewed as a tailor-made fit for Emery’s demanding, shape-shifting back line, according to The Athletic.

Villa turn to Wan-Bissaka after early setbacks

Villa’s recruitment team have already taken a few swings in this area. The club explored a move for Emerson Royal, now at Flamengo and formerly of Tottenham Hotspur, but that deal never came together. With that avenue closed, attention has swung firmly to Wan-Bissaka, whose reputation as an elite one-on-one defender still carries weight across Europe.

The timing is no accident. Villa step into the Champions League on the back of last season’s Europa League triumph and a fourth-place Premier League finish. Emery knows the margins will tighten. He wants full-backs who can lock down their flank, defend big spaces and adapt to different systems on the fly. Wan-Bissaka’s defensive instincts tick those boxes.

West Ham’s relegation opens the door

On the other side of the equation sits West Ham United, dealing with a brutal reset. Relegation to the Championship means the east London club will play second-tier football for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign. That drop has forced difficult conversations across the squad.

Wan-Bissaka is one of the players West Ham are understood to be willing to let go. The right-back made 27 appearances in all competitions last season, chipping in with three assists, but his influence faded when it mattered most. He started only two of West Ham’s final seven matches, regularly losing his place to Kyle Walker-Peters as the club slid towards the trapdoor.

For a player who arrived at the London Stadium on a seven-year contract running until 2031, after a £15 million move from Manchester United, a transfer now would mark a sharp twist in his career path. The fee will not be cheap, yet the move would offer him a route back to the Champions League stage and a club on the rise.

International pedigree and Old Trafford pedigree

While West Ham unravelled, Wan-Bissaka’s stock held firm on the international scene. He remained a cornerstone for DR Congo, starting all four of their matches at this summer’s World Cup and delivering a series of performances that drew the attention of watching scouts.

Those displays served as a reminder of the defender who once built a reputation as one of Europe’s most reliable one-v-one stoppers at Old Trafford. Across five seasons with Manchester United, Wan-Bissaka made 190 appearances and played a central role in squads that lifted the EFL Cup in 2022-23 and the FA Cup in 2023-24.

Now the equation is clear. Villa want a battle-hardened right-back for the Champions League. West Ham, back in the Championship, are ready to cash in. Wan-Bissaka stands between those two realities, with his next move likely to define the prime years of his career.