Unai Emery could hardly have been more explicit. Asked on January 6 about his aims for the transfer window, the Aston Villa boss replied: ‘We need a winger, a specific winger. We need it and we are trying to find one.’
Emery’s top target was Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams, who rejected the move even though Villa were ready to trigger his £50million release clause.
Emery opted not to chase Arnaut Danjuma, even though the attacker had shone under him at Villarreal, and in the end Villa brought back Bertrand Traore from his loan spell in Turkey.