With the £43 million signing of Watkins partner, Aston Villa can move past Ngonge.

With the £43 million signing of Watkins partner, Aston Villa can move past Ngonge

Watkins might find the ideal companion in this £43 million “rough diamond”.

Few would have guessed at the start of the season that Aston Villa would be ahead of teams like Manchester United,

Arsenal, and City, but such is the reality of the 2023–24 Premier League season.

The Midlands team is now on a roll and is involved in an early title battle with Man City, the European champion,

and league leaders Liverpool. Even the most ardent Villa fans, though, would concede that their team is now playing

above its weight.

However, Unai Emery has the opportunity to bolster his starting eleven in front of the second half of the season

during the January transfer window.

News on Nico Williams’ signing to Aston Villa

The most recent sources state that Aston Villa is eager to compete with Fiorentina of Serie A for Cyril Ngonge of

Hellas Verona before the deadline expires at the beginning of February. The Belgian went to Verona in January of

last year, and he scored ten goals for I Gialloblu that season, finishing as Verona’s top striker across all competitions.

However, he is currently being linked to a move to fresh pastures.

In any case, should Villa be unsuccessful in their efforts to sign the 23-year-old, Emery may yet again consider one

more option. Back in October, the Spanish publication Sport revealed that the Villans had opted to trigger Nico

Williams’ £43 million release clause in anticipation of a move for the forward from Athletic Club once the winter

transfer market began.
The Spain international was given a new four-year contract by the Basque club, which will keep him at the San

Mames until 2027 at the latest, in an effort to ward off interest from teams like Villa, Real Madrid, and Barcelona.

Williams’ release clause amount, however, was left unaltered, therefore Villa can still activate this before the January

transfer window ends.

Comparison of Nico Williams’ and Cyril Ngonge’s stats

This season, Emery has struggled to decide who to pair up with standout striker Ollie Watkins. Leading the line for

the Midlands club, the England international has had a fantastic season under Emery, tallying 14 goals and dishing

out eight assists in 27 games across all competitions.

The positions behind the striker have mostly been occupied by Moussa Diaby and Leon Bailey. Bailey has been the

most productive attacking player for Aston Villa this season, accounting for nine goals and seven assists, behind only

Watkins. The Jamaican has been most effective, though, when he plays on the right wing, where he has six goals and

four assists for Villa this season.

In the meantime, Diaby has contributed four goals and scored five times in his debut season. The main problem for

the Frenchman has been his consistency. The £52 million summer acquisition has contributed one assist and one

goal in his previous eight games.

Because of Diaby’s problems, Bailey has been expected to play a more central role, therefore Emery is hoping to add

additional quality on the flanks this month by signing Ngonge. Given that Ngonge might be available for a rumored

£8.7 million, he is a significantly less expensive option than Williams; nonetheless, you get what you pay for, and

when comparing the two’s 2023–24 campaign statistics, Williams is far superior to the Villa target.

Per 90 Metrics	Nico Williams	Cyril Ngonge
Goals	0.31	0.33
Expected Goals	0.27	0.28
Assists	0.38	0.13
Expected Assists	0.36	0.11
Key Passes	2.48	1.44
Passes To Penalty Area	2.02	0.79
Crosses	7.08	3.2
Crosses To Penalty Area	1.16	0.5
Progressive Passes Received	11	7.27
Progressive Carries	5.81	3.24
Stats via FBref

The numbers show that Ngonge is a better goal scorer than Williams, but Williams is much more creative and would

be a dream for Watkins, who has already performed above expectations in front of goal. This season, Watkins has

scored five goals via headers; this number will probably increase as long as Williams is out wide and consistently

whipping in dangerous balls.

Williams’ brother Inaki called him a “rough diamond” since he is still a raw player, but at the right club, he has the

potential to be a world-beater.

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