Even if he did get an assist in the 1-1 draw against West Ham, it’s fair to say that Nicolo Zaniolo’s time at Aston Villa since his loan from Galatasaray started has been a flop.
The Italian arrived with a lot of expectations, and he has yet to live up to them, as he has failed to fully convince fans and Unai Emery alike.
However, his time with the Italy squad, far from Aston Villa, is a bit of a different story, as Gazzetta dello Sport point out on Friday after the 2-1 win over Venezuela.
They give the forward a rating of 7/10, saying that he was a ‘constant presence’ down the right hand side of the attack, and even came close to scoring twice.
In fact, they note that the player ‘always seems revitalised’ when he is away from Aston Villa and with the Italy national team, which says a lot about how things are going for him at the Premier League club.
Since he arrived in the Midlands, the 24-year-old has made 31 appearances in all competitions, but has only managed to score three goals, with just 10 of those games seeing start on the team sheet rather than come off the bench.
