ASTON VILLA TRANFER: A new creative attacker appears to be of interest after an injury to……….
Aston Villa are working to sign Galatasaray attacker Nicolo Zaniolo, with someone at Villa Park knowing the player well.
What’s the latest Aston Villa transfer news?
NSWE have backed Unai Emery ahead of the manager’s first full season in charge, with Europa Conference League football on offer in the Midlands this season.
So far, the club have brought in Youri Tielemans on a free transfer from Leicester City and have secured big-money moves for Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby from Villarreal and Bayer Leverkusen respectively.
However, further new arrivals could be on the cards before the September 1 deadline, after it emerged that attacking midfielder Emiliano Buendia has suffered significant ligament damage to his knee.
A new attacking addition appears to be of interest, with Zaniolo seemingly the club’s latest transfer target.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano took to X on Thursday to share what he’s heard about Villa and Zaniolo. He said that those in the Midlands are working on a deal, with new director Monchi previously signing the player for Roma.
“Understand Aston Villa are working on deal to sign Nicolo Zaniolo. It’s concrete possibility being discussed, one of the top names in the list. Villa director Monchi signed Zaniolo at Roma from Inter and negotiations will follow with Galatasaray. Deal on.”
Since then, Villa correspondent John Townley has said that talks are at an advanced stage.
“AVFC are in advanced negotiations with Galatasaray over signing Nicolo Zaniolo. Zaniolo only arrived in Turkey earlier this year and scored five goals in 10 appearances last season. The 24yo was signed by Monchi when he joined Roma in 2018.”
Who is Nicolo Zaniolo?
Zaniolo is primarily an attacking midfielder who can also play as a second striker or right-winger, so would offer Emery a versatile option in the final third.
The Italy international only made the move to Galatasaray back in February, and prior to that, had spells with Roma and Inter Milan. In total, the left-footed attacker made 128 appearances for Roma, contributing to 42 goals, and has turned out on 12 occasions for his current employers.
Described as a “monster” by one reporter, Zaniolo has also been labelled as a player who is “evolving into a world star” by Milliyet’s Galatasaray correspondent Nevzat Dindar after links to Tottenham earlier this year.
“Zaniolo is also evolving into a world star. English clubs for Zaniolo.
“It goes up to 30-35 million euros. At this point, Galatasaray does not take Juventus’ offers seriously. Tottenham is the closest club to finish Zaniolo.”
As per FBref, Zaniolo has been compared to Premier League wingers Marcus Rashford, Heung-min Son and Harvey Barnes over the last 12 months. He has ranked in the top 3% of attacking midfielders and wingers for shots, the top 4% for fouls drawn and the top 1% for penalty kicks won, showing how he could provide a real threat at Villa Park.
It looks as if a move could well develop quickly, so it will be one to keep an eye on over the coming days as the new Premier League season gets underway with Villa set to take on Newcastle United.
