Aston Villa's Pursuit of Aaron Wan-Bissaka: A Right-Back Solution

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

Aston Villa’s manager wants a squad that can handle the strain of Champions League nights on top of a demanding domestic schedule, and he has decided Matty Cash needs serious competition. According to The Athletic, Aaron Wan-Bissaka has moved to the top of Villa’s shortlist, seen inside the club as an ideal fit for Emery’s tactical demands.

At 28, Wan-Bissaka brings something Emery values deeply – defensive certainty in one-on-one situations and the discipline to adapt to different shapes across the backline. Villa’s recruitment team had already been working that lane, but early moves in the window stalled. A proposed deal for Emerson Royal, now at Flamengo and formerly of Tottenham Hotspur, never got close to completion. The search didn’t stop. It simply changed direction.

The context around Wan-Bissaka has shifted sharply as well.

West Ham United’s relegation to the Championship has created a financial and sporting reset in east London. For the first time since the 2011-12 season, the Hammers are preparing for life outside the Premier League, and that reality has left them open to sanctioning exits for high-value players. Wan-Bissaka is one of them.

He featured 27 times in all competitions for West Ham last season and chipped in with three assists, but his influence faded when it mattered most. As the campaign reached its decisive stretch, he lost his starting spot more often than not. Wan-Bissaka started only two of West Ham’s final seven matches, regularly watching on as Kyle Walker-Peters got the nod ahead of him.

That lack of minutes jars with the size of his contract. When he arrived from Manchester United in a £15 million deal, he signed a seven-year agreement running through to 2031. Any move now would require a significant outlay, yet for the player it would mark a dramatic swing in fortunes: from the fringes of a relegated side to a club gearing up for the Champions League.

His international form tells a different story to West Ham’s struggles. While his club slid, Wan-Bissaka’s stock with DR Congo stayed high. He started all four of their matches at this summer’s World Cup, delivering a series of assured displays that drew attention from scouts tracking defensive standouts on the biggest stage.

Those performances were a reminder of the defender who first built his reputation at Old Trafford. During five seasons with Manchester United, Wan-Bissaka made 190 appearances and carved out a name as one of Europe’s most reliable one-on-one defenders. He played a central role in United sides that lifted the EFL Cup in 2022-23 and the FA Cup in 2023-24, silverware that underlined his pedigree at the top level.

Now the equation is clear. Villa want depth and defensive steel on the right, Emery wants flexibility and reliability, and West Ham are braced for offers. If Villa decide to test that resolve, Wan-Bissaka could find himself swapping a Championship rebuild for Champions League nights – and a chance to reassert himself among England’s elite full-backs.