Forget Moussa Diaby - Aston Villa can break the internet by signing £50m transfer replacement

If there is one hard and fast rule of this, the summer transfer window 2024, then surely it must be that if you can sign Nico Williams, you sign Nico Williams. The Spanish winger enjoyed a breakout tournament as his country lifted a record fourth European Championship last week, and his goal in the final truly signified the moment at which England and their hopes of ending 58 years of hurt began to unravel. Cheers, buddy.

Anyways, if anybody is willing to let bygones be bygones, to forgive and (hopefully) forget, it is the board at Villa Park. According to various reports, Aston Villa are heavily interested in signing the 22-year-old, and are eager to wrap up a deal that would represent a significant coup for Unai Emery’s side.

The understanding is that Williams has a release clause of around £50 million written into his contract with current club Athletic Bilbao, and given the sudden spike in his stock, it is not unthinkable that any number of sides would be willing to meet that relatively modest valuation.

Indeed, in the Premier League alone, both Arsenal and Chelsea have been touted as realistic suitors in recent weeks, and further afield, there is heavy, heavy interest from Barcelona. To that end, Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano suggests that the Catalan giants are desperate to agree personal terms with Williams in an effort to scupper any plans of him moving to England - although it remains to be seen whether the wheezing club, with all of their lingering financial woes, have a spare £50 million knocking about down the back of the sofa to trigger his release clause in the Basque Country.

And in amongst all of that, we have Villa; Champions League usurpers, plucky upstarts compared to their more established top six and continental rivals. There are reasons for the Villans to be hopeful, however. For one thing, that newfound status among the European elite represents a notable boon in their bid to lure players to Emery’s project this summer. For another, talk continues to simmer about a possible exit for Moussa Diaby.

According to 90min, Villa have already rejected one bid of around £45 million from Saudi Pro League outfit Al Ittihad for the winger, but could be open to selling him eventually, and have supposedly set an asking price of around £60 million. Now, all you keen-eyed mathematicians out there will have spotted that £60 million is more than the £50 million or so it would take to sign Williams this summer. Hell, there would even be a little bit of loose change to spare. And as such, Diaby’s exit could ultimately be the catalyst that allows Villa to swoop for the Spaniard.

Because if all the pieces fall into place quickly enough, Villa may essentially face a choice as to whether they would rather head into the new season with a player they know and trust, or whether they would prefer to take a punt on one of the most exciting talents in world football. It would be hard to say no to the latter...