- Aston Villa are interested in Rangers prospect Bailey Rice
- He is expected to leave the Ibrox on a free transfer this summer
- Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and Crystal Palace are the other Premier League clubs monitoring the situation
Aston Villa are interested in Scottish youth international Bailey Rice, who will become a free agent in the summer. It would be a move that represents Villa’s strategy to pursue teenage talent, to either develop for the first team or sell on for profit.
The 19-year-old made his debut when he was 16 and is regarded as a player with significant potential. However, his progress this season has been severely hampered by a long-term knee injury he sustained in November. This has restricted him to just one senior appearance, which was a 45-minute cameo against Alloa Athletic in the League Cup.
Despite this, Premier League clubs are determined to lure him to England, as they are keen to provide him with a pathway to fulfil the talent he possesses.
Villa, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and Crystal Palace are among those interested in the midfielder, as well as some teams in Europe. Rangers will still be due training compensation, even though he will become a free agent.
By moving for Rice now, Villa hope to secure a high-ceiling asset whose market value could skyrocket once he regains full match fitness and adapts to the pace of the Premier League.
Peter O’Rourke explains the latest
Football Insider’s Peter O’Rourke has explained the current situation surrounding Rice.
“There are clubs willing to take that gamble on Rice. He’s been talked about for a long time now and is a very highly regarded player in Scotland.
“It does seem more than likely that he will leave Ibrox as a free agent this summer when his contract expires, which will be a big blow for Rangers.
“There have been suggestions that the likes of Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace are all ready to offer Rice the opportunity to move down to England to continue his career.
“He’s got huge potential, and that’s probably why you’ve got this interest in him from the Premier League because they see his potential and they’ll be hoping that they can tap into that, and bring out the best in him.”
ReadAstonVilla verdict
While his injury in November was a setback, the volume of high-level interest suggests that his reputation remains untarnished among top-tier scouts.
For Villa, securing Rice would be a major coup, continuing their trend of acquiring Scottish talent at a bargain price. Rory Wilson, Ewan Simpson, Aidan Borland, and Fletcher Boyd are all examples of this.
As the midfielder nears full fitness this summer, the lure of Unai Emery’s project, and potentially the Champions League, may be the deciding factor to convince one of Scotland’s brightest prospects to continue his journey in the Midlands.
