Striker Rory Wilson has signed a new contract at Aston Villa.
The Athletic reported in early March that talks had resumed with the Scotland youth international over a new contract on a reduced length of deal, having rejected a series of five-year contracts previously.
The new contract is a two-year extension plus an option for a further 12 months.
The agreement marks the end of protracted negotiations, after an initial round of talks reached an impasse between all parties earlier this season, impacting any hopes of the 19-year-old being involved in Unai Emery’s squad.
The forward could have signed a pre-contract agreement with a club based outside the UK from January onwards and those who have achieved Category 1 academy status would need to pay Villa €270,000 (£226,500) in compensation. This is due to Wilson being at Villa for three years, equating to €90,000 (£75,500) per annum.
The club did not want to break its academy salary structure, despite Wilson’s contract expiring at the end of the 2024-25 season. The Athletic has previously reported that the player had several admirers in Europe prepared to provide a first-team pathway and a wage of more than £20,000 a week.
However, talks resumed, with a broad agreement struck a fortnight ago.
Wilson has been injured in recent months with an ankle setback but has returned to training. Wilson scored 49 goals at youth level the season before he joined Villa from Rangers. He since scored 36 times in 53 appearances across Villa’s under-18s and under-21s.
“‘We are delighted to have agreed a new contract with Rory. He has obviously got a proven track record of scoring goals at the Academy level and we firmly believe that this will continue at senior level,” Villa academy manager Mark Harrison said.
“Rory has always been very committed to his development and has shown that consistently throughout his time with us. He has undoubted potential, so we look forward to supporting him into transitioning into a first-team player at Aston Villa FC.”
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