OPINION
When the likes of Championship sides Aston Villa and Leeds United come up against Premier League outfits in the hunt for transfer targets, there is only ever likely going to be one winner – and it is not the second tier clubs.
The Whites and the Villans know that they do not have the financial firepower to throw cash around at new recruits and as such have to hope that the individuals being targeted are not in the sights of English football’s elite.
Unfortunately for the pair, that seems to be the exact case when it comes to Kidderminster midfielder Ed Williams, who Football Insider have reported as being well and truly on the Championship sides’ radars as they launch transfer missions to track his performance in non-league.
However, his 10 goals in 14 appearances mean that there is building interest in the 23-year-old goal machine, and the Daily Mail claim that Premier League rivals have joined the hunt with scouting missions of their own.
Now, that would usually mean Villa and Leeds would be out of the water, but on this occasion Dean Smith could pull off a hefty coup for the Villa Park outfit.
What he has in his favour is both the promise of money – courtesy of the new owners at the midlands club – and, perhaps most importantly for the non-league sensation, the chance for regular first team football.
Is Williams going to go from Kidderminster into a top flight starting XI? Not in the slightest.
Premier League sides will be signing him as a gamble on him following in the footsteps of Jamie Vardy – Villa on the other hand will be signing him to improve their current options.
Leeds could pose a serious threat but at the same time, they already have quality options in the same role – Samu Saiz and Lewis Baker just two who fill the same void – and with Marcelo Bielsa wanting a small, tight knit squad, he is not going to bloat it with an unproven talent.
Villa have space and money to make Williams not only a well-paid star but a first team feature – and it is for that reason Smith could pull off a coup in January.