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Aston Villa have been left ‘impressed’ by Torino player Raoul Bellanova and eyed a move in January, before being sent packing by Torino president Urbano Cairo.

That’s according to Tuttomercatoweb, who say Cairo ‘immediately’ made it clear that he wasn’t interest in discussing a transfer for the 23-year-old.

TMW explain that Bellanova is one of the men of the moment in Turin, shining alongside the likes of Duvan Zapata and proving to be a key player for Ivan Juric’s team.

That’s led to a growing interest in him and there were enquiries in January, where many clubs came to ask about a deal, including Aston Villa.

They believed that he could be an ideal addition for Unai Emery and would fit ‘perfectly’ with the style of the Premier League and so explored the possibility of a deal.

However, Urbano Cairo was in no way interested in a potential deal as he did not want to deprive his team of one of their key players.

He, therefore, asked for a figure above €20m if he was to sell, but Aston Villa decided against such an operation and decided not to go further.

They may have delayed their interest until the summer and there is an acceptance that should Bellanova continue to impress, it will be ‘difficult’ to keep him.