Sources: Rangers ‘stunned’ by Aston Villa offer for Wilson
Rangers were “stunned” at the lengths Aston Villa went to lure Rory Wilson from Ibrox during the summer, sources have told Football Insider.
The Glasgow giants offered the striker, 16, a club-record first-year pro deal to keep him as well as a pathway into their senior team.
But Villa blew Rangers out of the water with a mega-money contract that, according to one source with knowledge of the situation, that left Ibrox staff “stunned”.
Wilson joined Villa after they fended off “a number of clubs interested in signing him”.
Those clubs included Brighton, who had been the initial favourites before the Midlands giants offered what was said to be a highly lucrative seven-figure contract.
Wilson’s talent was clear to scouts following an goal-drenched 2021-22 campaign in which he scored 49 times at youth level for club and country.
Football Insider broke the news on 28 March that the forward had rejected the most lucrative first-year professional deal in the Glasgow club’s history to make it clear he wanted to quit Ibrox.
Director of football Ross Wilson and manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst tried to sell the club to Wilson and his family in a bid to get the youngster to stay.
But those talks failed and he moved to Villa for a cross-border development fee of just £300,000.
Losing such a prodigious talent was a major blow for Rangers, who were unable to stop Billy Gilmour heading to Chelsea at the same age.
Wilson has been a regular for Villa Under-18s, starting all five of their league matches at centre-forward and scoring four goals, including doubles against Brighton and West Ham.
He is still waiting for his Under-21s debut after being an unused substitute in the recent 6-2 defeat to West Brom.
In other news, Leeds make move to sign Rangers sensation.