Aston Villa manager, Unai Emery has suggested that Nicolo Zaniolo is going to step up in place of the injured Jhon Duran.
The January transfer window continues to be very quiet for Aston Villa with a lack of transfer rumours right now.
There has been just one signing made by Unai Emery and that has been youngster, Kosta Nedeljkovic. However, he has returned to Red Star Belgrade on loan.
Rumours have pointed towards the Villans looking for some attacking reinforcement to bring in the January window.
This has seen links to younger options like Morgan Rogers and Jonathan Rowe in the past few weeks. On top of this links to more experienced Premier League options have come up.
There have also been rumours of departures which may leave Villa light. This has seen Leander Dendoncker depart already and discussions of Jhon Duran making a move too.
Now the Villa boss has opened up about the situation and how he sees his squad moving forward in an attacking sense.
Zaniolo to step up in place of Duran
There has been no shortage of links suggesting that the young Colombia international is looking to make a move away. This has seen clubs including AC Milan, West Ham United and Chelsea interested in his signature.
It has been suggested that Duran has looked to force a move away due to a lack of Premier League minutes. According to FotMob, he has registered just 174 minutes but has still managed to score two goals.
Now with transfer rumours swirling around him, he has picked up and injury which will rule him out against Newcastle. This could also see him out until March or April.
This has potentially scuppered any move for another striker like Armando Broja as a swap deal looked possible.
Now speaking to John Townley, Emery has suggested that rather than a new signing a current player will step in.
On that, he said: “Zaniolo, his first part of the season was not being consistent. But after speaking with him and after the circumstances he had before, I think in the second half of the season he is going to really help us.”
The Italian loanee is another Villa player who has had a lack of minutes in the Premier League this campaign. Zaniolo has registered 502 minutes and has only managed to score once. This could be a worry for the Villans.
Potentially playing in a more central area could allow him to show his class and displace Duran on a permanent basis. It feels like a strange move right now but if Emery wants it, there must be something in it.
