Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk has already hinted Nicolò Zaniolo could be on his way to Aston Villa.
The winger is now edging closer to joining the Villans, according to multiple reports from Turkey.
According to Akşam, the 24-year-old will join Aston Villa on a loan deal with an option to buy
They add Zaniolo travelled to England yesterday to carry out a medical and complete his move to Villa Park.
This is backed up Fotomaç, who state the Italy international ‘went to Birmingham’ to undergo medical tests with the Premier League side.
They state Unai Emery’s side will sign him on loan with a conditional purchase option. This will be activated if he makes a certain number of appearances for Aston Villa this season.
Fotomaç state the Turkish champions will be able to collect €32m if the attacker is sold to the English club.
Over in Italy, Calciomercato state ‘everything is ready’ for the former AS Roma star to become a new Aston Villa player. He will have his medical tests ‘this afternoon’.
Zaniolo joined the Turkish champions in January and will now seal a move to Aston Villa
Aston Villa could revisit one of their long-term transfer targets this summer, as Unai Emery bids to resolve the injury woes already plaguing the squad.
Just one game into the season and the Villans are without both Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia for the foreseeable future, with both starting players suffering significant knee injuries.
While the Argentine’s fate was confirmed last week, Mings was stretchered off the pitch at St James’ Park just half an hour into the Premier League opener against Newcastle United, leaving Emery two players short so early into the campaign.
Despite hiring strongly already this summer, the Spaniard could opt to delve back into the market to gather further reinforcements following the double blow.
The name surrounding Villa’s current transfer narrative is Nicolo Zaniolo, who is close to being unveiled in claret and blue this week on an initial loan deal from Galatasaray.
Considering Buendia’s injury, paired with the expected departure of Philippe Coutinho, Emery could consider revisiting a former target of the Villans in the form of his former player, Dani Ceballos.
The Spaniard was linked to Villa in the January window, with Sport reporting earlier this month that the Midlands club were readying an offer worth €15m (£12.8m) for the midfielder.
Emery was behind the 27-year-old’s first spell on loan at Arsenal, with the player already having Premier League experience under his belt.
Having been praised by the Villa boss himself as a “very good player” due to his capabilities of playing as both a number 10 and eight in central midfield, the Spaniard is a real handful in the middle of the park.
With talents in both the offensive and defensive roles in and around the engine room, the Real Madrid ace could be the perfect acquisition for Emery to reconsider showing interest in, in the absence of Buendia.
Also lauded as “too good” and as an “amazing” talent by scout Jacek Kulig, the 27-year-old could be a valuable asset for the manager to once again have at his disposal, in a player that already has sufficient experience in the English game.
On two separate loan spells, Ceballos made 77 appearances for the Gunners, playing as both an attacking midfielder and adhering to the deeper role in midfield on occasions to showcase his versatility.
Like Buendia, the Utrera-born star is a creative-minded talent, as highlighted by his numbers last season for Los Blancos, in which he averaged a mighty 11.74 progressive passes and 1.73 key passes per 90 in LaLiga, via FBref.
Deployed with the role of a box-to-box player in mind, the Spaniard is a strong carrier of the ball, as conveyed by his 3.45 progressive carries per 90 last term, suggesting that he could be the perfect addition in Emery’s free-flowing system in the middle of the park..jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
Identified as a manager that sets his teams up to build through the middle channel, the four-time Europa League winner could integrate Ceballos into his plans to great success.
