Aston Villa have reportedly made contact with Juventus over a deal for their talented winger, Samuel Iling-Junior.
Aston Villa have made a sensational start to the season and are going from strength to strength under Unai Emery.
Villa have reached the last 16 of the Europa Conference League and are currently flying in third position in Premier League, one point behind leaders Arsenal.
With Emery’s side performing to the optimum of their abilities, the January transfer window poses an opportunity to improve.
There have been many rumours doing the rounds in recent weeks. Emery has already hinted that signing right-back cover is a priority, but now it appears that a winger is on the cards if the latest reports are correct.
Are Aston Villa interested in Samuel Iling-Junior?
According to Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb, Aston Villa are one of three Premier League clubs that are considering a move for Juventus winger Iling-Junior in January.
The report claims that Villa, Tottenham and Brighton have initiated contact over a move for the talented 20-year-old, though no offers have been put forward by any club.
It is believed that the Italian giants are willing to sanction a deal for the former Chelsea academy graduate, who is valued at €18m (£15.5m), as per the report, to finance their upcoming transfer plans.
Having departed Stamford Bridge in 2020, the youngster has appeared 24 times in the Juve first-team and has showcased his talent in the Serie A.
As such, if Villa were able to pull off a deal for the figure that has been touted, they’d be potentially getting a steal.
What would Iling-Junior bring to Aston Villa?
With only Nicolo Zaniolo, Moussa Diaby and Leon Bailey as natural wingers in the Villa squad, Iling-Junior would provide some much-needed cover, but also several attributes that can help Emery’s side achieve their aims.
Not only does he possess a real burst of pace which allows him a yard to cross on the outside or come inside and shoot, but he’s also very agile.
He’s displayed this through his dynamism when dribbling, opening his hips to go either way and not giving the defender an idea of what’s coming next.
It’s such unpredictability that has seen him frighten the life out of opposition defenders with journalist Antonio Mango hailing him as a “constant menace”.
When comparing his statistics to full-backs, for instance, across Europe’s top five leagues, he ranks in the top 18% for progressive carries, top 15% for successful take-ons and top 5% for non-penalty goals, as per FBref.
Having showcased his ability to play as a wing-back or left-winger across any system, such versatility would be handy for Emery to have when he shuffles formation in a match.
With that said, the 20-year-old could be a smart transfer for Aston Villa to make in January for all the reasons listed above.
