- Aston Villa are reportedly edging closer for a move for Harry Wilson
- The Welsh star’s contract expires at the end of June
- He is thought to be open to a new challenge
Unai Emery looks to bolster his attacking options this summer with Aston Villa closing in on a move for Fulham’s Harry Wilson. The Welshman has been enjoying his best season at the club and has been attracting interest from multiple clubs.
Fulham midfielder Harry Wilson is officially preparing for a new chapter as his contract with Fulham approaches its end this June. Despite the Cottagers efforts to retain his services, the versatile midfielder has reportedly turned down a new deal at Craven Cottage, choosing instead to explore his options as a free agent
According to the Birmingham Mail, the 29-year-old will wait until the end of the season before making his decision. However, if Villa secures Champions League football for next season, Wilson is expected to make the move to Villa Park.
The Villans are prepared to double his current wages, with a deal worth £100,000-a-week.
Best season yet
Wilson joined Fulham in 2021 for £12 million, after climbing through Liverpool’s academy without making a single league appearance.
He has struggled with regular starts at Craven Cottage. In his first three seasons after promotion from the Championship, 49 out of his 89 appearances came from the bench, which is a 53.9% rate. There were only three occasions he started more than three games in a row, within a single season, and he only once started more than five in a row.
Now, in the 2025/26 campaign, he has been in prolific form. 29 starts in 31 appearances in the Premier League, scoring ten goals and registering six assists. At the time of writing, he ranks joint sixth for total goal contributions in the league, in a Fulham side that has lacked consistency.
Villa needs this type of player, especially given their lack of goal threat at right wing, outside of John McGinn. Wilson offers a more creative and clinical spark than Emery’s current options, so would no doubt be a shrewd addition to the squad.
Relationship with Marco Silva
Speaking to Football Focus recently, Wilson discussed his relationship with current boss Marco Silva.
“He was the one that brought me to this club. I was his first signing so we have been together for four and a half years now.
“It has been really good (working with him), even from the first chat I had on the phone with him before I signed. We talked about the way he wants his teams to play and the way he sees me playing in the team.
“I don’t think either of us knew where we were going to be in four and a half years. So to have won the Championship and then had three solid seasons in the Premier League, that is great.”
At the peak of his career, Wilson will be ready to test himself at the next level. A move to Villa would certainly offer him that, with Champions League football, and competing for silverware at the forefront of their objectives for the upcoming seasons.
As the curtain begins to fall on the 2025/26 campaign, his impending departure from Fulham marks the end of an era at Craven Cottage and potentially the start of a thrilling new chapter in the West Midlands. With 10 goals and six assists this term, Wilson is playing the best football of his career, making the prospect of a free transfer an absolute steal for a side with Champions League aspirations.
For Unai Emery, securing a player of Wilson’s tactical flexibility and dead-ball specialist ability would represent a significant coup in an increasingly expensive market.
While a host of Premier League rivals remain in the hunt, the Welshman’s apparent desire to move to B6 suggests that the allure of Emery’s project at Villa Park is too strong to ignore.
If the hierarchy can finalise the terms of this one condition, the Villa faithful could soon be welcoming one of the league’s most underrated creators to their ranks.
