Aston Villa's Right-Back Priority: Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Unai Emery has made his mind up. If Aston Villa are going to live comfortably among Europe’s elite, the right flank needs upgrading – or at the very least, hard, serious competition.

At the top of his list sits Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Emery’s right-back rethink

Emery has flagged right-back as a priority area this summer, a position he wants to sharpen for a campaign that will stretch Villa across the Premier League and the Champions League. Matty Cash has been the reliable starter, but the message from the manager is clear: no one’s shirt is safe.

Wan-Bissaka, identified as a leading target and reported by The Athletic, fits the brief. At 28, he brings a reputation as one of the game’s standout one-on-one defenders, a specialist in shutting down wingers in the wide channels. Villa see that defensive steel as a perfect match for Emery’s demands on his backline – full-backs who can lock down their side and still adapt to shifting tactical shapes.

Villa have already felt the frustration of this market. An early move for Emerson Royal, the Flamengo defender and former Tottenham Hotspur right-back, never got off the ground. That deal stalling forced the recruitment team to pivot, and attention has now swung firmly towards Wan-Bissaka as they try to arm Emery with a squad capable of coping with the extra load that comes with Champions League football.

Last season’s Europa League triumph and a fourth-place Premier League finish have changed the scale of Villa’s ambitions. The squad now has to reflect that.

West Ham’s slide opens the door

On the other side of the deal, West Ham United’s situation has shifted dramatically.

Relegation to the Championship for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign has left the east London club facing hard decisions. They are understood to be open to sanctioning Wan-Bissaka’s exit, a move that would ease the wage bill and bring in a significant fee at a time when finances and squad structure need a reset.

Wan-Bissaka featured 27 times in all competitions for West Ham last season, chipping in with three assists. Those numbers tell only part of the story. As the campaign wore on and the pressure cranked up, his role shrank.

He started just two of West Ham’s final seven matches, repeatedly losing his place to Kyle Walker-Peters. For a player who arrived on a seven-year contract running until 2031, after a £15 million switch from Manchester United, it marked a sharp change in status.

A transfer now would represent a major turn in his fortunes: from a squad player in a relegated side to a key piece in a Champions League project.

International standing and United pedigree

While West Ham faltered, Wan-Bissaka’s international stock stayed strong.

For DR Congo, he has remained a pillar. He started all four of their matches at this summer’s World Cup, delivering the kind of assured, front-foot defensive displays that inevitably attract scouts. Those performances have helped keep his name prominent on shortlists across Europe, even as his club minutes dipped.

His reputation was built long before his move to London. At Manchester United, Wan-Bissaka carved out a place as one of Europe’s most reliable one-on-one defenders. Over five seasons at Old Trafford he made 190 appearances, anchoring the right side of defence in teams that collected major domestic trophies.

He played his part in United’s EFL Cup win in 2022-23 and their FA Cup triumph in 2023-24, experience that would appeal to a Villa side now expecting to compete for honours on multiple fronts.

Emery wants a squad hardened by big games, big nights and high stakes. Wan-Bissaka has lived that life. The only question now is whether Villa push hard enough to prise him out of a relegated West Ham and hand him a route back to the Champions League stage.