Nicolo Zaniolo’s future at Aston Villa has already been decided after half a season in the West Midlands.
Zaniolo, 24, arrived during the summer of 2023, with Villa paying Galatasaray a £4.25m loan fee to secure the forward’s services for the season (BBC Sport).
However, with just one goal and seven Premier League starts, Unai Emery has decided on the Italy international’s future.
Zaniolo Aston Villa exit is on the cards
According to Turkish publication Askam, Villa and Emery have been underwhelmed by the Italian’s performances during the first half of the season.
It’s believed the club have decided against the £23 million buy-clause inserted into the current loan deal.
With just a handful of starts under his belt, this seems the best decision for all concerned.
Zaniolo’s career has taken a strange turn since his big-money move to Galatasaray. According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the Turkish side purchased the 24-year-old for £14 million in February 2023.
Having been shipped out on loan just months later, things have certainly not gone as planned.
Emery’s attacking options have pushed Zaniolo firmly down the pecking order. Leon Bailey, Moussa Diaby, Jacob Ramsey and potentially Morgan Rogers all find themselves ahead of the Italian.
With three in-form attackers ahead of him, Zaniolo has probably already accepted his Aston Villa fate.
The signing of Rogers was also a good indication of where the Galatasaray loanee sits in Villa’s plans.
Villa embarked on a month-long pursuit of Rogers, eventually landing the former Middlesbrough forward for a fee that could rise to £16 million (Sky Sports).
£16 million is a significant sum of money, and the signing of the 21-year-old has almost certainly ended Zaniolo’s hopes of a permanent deal.
Emery’s attacking options are the least of Villa’s current worries; with Boubacar Kamara now ruled out for the season, the centre of midfield feels more of an immediate concern.
With top-four ambitions and a Conference League campaign to contend with, the likes of Youri Tielemans and Tim Iroegbunam could be asked to step into Kamara’s role between now and the end of the campaign.
Tielemans has had to make do with substitute appearances during large parts of the season and has to grab this chance during the remainder of the campaign.
