One Aston Villa player looks on course to be plying his trade away from Villa Park next season, following a new update.
Aston Villa transfer rumours
NSWE and Monchi have been busy during the 2023/24 campaign, bolstering Unai Emery’s squad both in the summer and again in the winter window. The club’s recruitment has made a difference as well, with the likes of Youri Tielemans, Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby all making an impact throughout the Premier League season.
Villa are now on course to actually qualify for the Champions League in Emery’s first full season in charge, with the club having one eye on the summer window as a result.
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Emery has been linked with the vacancy at the Allianz Arena.
Recent rumours have suggested that former forward Cameron Archer could return to the Midlands from Sheffield United, with FC Porto midfielder Alan Varela a new target. When it comes to summer departures, Jacob Ramsey has been linked with an exit, as has Douglas Luiz, who is of interest to former employers Manchester City.
The future of loanee Nicolo Zaniolo will have to be decided in the summer as well, with Villa having an option to make his loan move from Galatasaray permanent at the end of the season.
Nicolo Zaniolo transfer update
According to reports from Italy, relayed by Sport Witness, Villa ‘aren’t planning to trigger the option to buy in the deal with Galatasaray’, with the versatile attacker set to return to Galatasaray. However, the player already has a return to his native Italy in mind and huge Serie A side AC Milan is a potential destination for Zaniolo, alongside Fiorentina and Napoli.
Since joining on loan in the summer, the 24-year-old has made 27 appearances for Villa in all competitions, playing in six different attacking roles. He’s only scored two times and has failed to register an assist, though, so refusing to pay the rumoured €44m option to buy appears to make sense.
Zaniolo has come in for praise from Emery during his stay in England, with the Villa boss saying: “Zaniolo as a person, it is very easy to talk with him, to work with him. His behaviour and commitment with us from the first day was very good. His adaptation is going very well, and then he is playing well.
“He was playing more on the right, but now we needed him playing left side. He was available and he was really, really feeling good as well playing and helping there. I am going to use him in different positions and I am really happy with him.”
His days at Villa Park look numbered, though, and Emery may well call upon January signing Morgan Rogers to replace Zaniolo in the long run.
