The latest comments from the entourage of one of Unai Emery's squad members will not have gone down well at Villa Park ahead of the summer transfer window.
Aston Villa's impressive season fizzling out?
A 3-3 draw with Brentford over the weekend continued a sticky patch of form for Unai Emery's Aston Villa, and saw Tottenham move ahead of them into the top four of the Premier League.
With the Lilywhites having a game in hand on the Villans, it seems more likely than not that Villa will have to console themselves with fifth place, which is still likely to be enough for Champions League football next season.
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Aston Villa dropped more points in the Premier League this afternoon
ByRoss KilvingtonApr 7, 2024 But one win in their last five Premier League games is far from ideal preparation for the UEFA Conference League clash with Lille as they battle for some long overdue silverware, though the concerning run of form comes at a time when they already have an 11 point lead over sixth place Manchester United domestically. Zaniolo doing himself no favours
Now, 24-year-old Nicolo Zaniolo finds himself in the news once more for some off-the-pitch antics. The Italian was slammed in some quarters after jumping out of the way of Phil Foden's free kick in their midweek defeat against Manchester City, with that being the latest twist in what has been a topsy-turvy loan spell in the Midlands.
Joining the club on loan for the season, Galatasaray described the option to buy the player as a ‘conditional compulsory purchase option’, but no signs of the conditions having been met have been forthcoming, with Zaniolo having made just eight Premier League starts to date.
Zaniolo's time at Aston Villa (all comps)
Appearances
34
Starts
11
Minutes
1137
Goals
3
Assists
0
Yellow Cards
11
Now, his entourage have been reportedly pandering to transfer interest back in Italy. As per Sport Witness, Napoli was described as a 'very welcome solution' to Zaniolo's future plans.
“Naples is a beautiful place, the truth is that it would be a very welcome solution for Nicolo,” a member of his entourage revealed to Radio KissKiss, a major source for news on the Serie A club.
Just weeks ago, Zaniolo complained about his lack of game time in the Midlands, but was effusive in his praise of Villa boss Emery, who he claimed was as good as compatriot Pep Guardiola.
“I deserve more chances at Aston Villa, but I can say that Emery is one of the strongest coaches, I put him on the same level as Guardiola, Klopp and Mourinho. He is improving me in every aspect", he explained.
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He’s been called “nationally underrated”.
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Now though, he seems to have come to the conclusion that he is not guaranteed to stay at Villa, with Galatasaray thought to be demanding 20m euros for his services on a permanent basis.
With the Italian interested in a return to his homeland and having been consistently inconsistent at Villa Park, is it all for the best?
