Samuel Iling-Junior arrived at Aston Villa from Juventus in the summer window, as part of the negotiations which began for Douglas Luiz’s transfer the other way.
The 20-year-old had moved to the Turin club from Chelsea’s youth system in 2020. Last season he got just under a thousand minutes on the pitch for Juventus, with his contributions increasing as the campaign grew older.
A move was always on the cards to allow Iling-Junior to get the minutes needed to progress. Unfortunately, Aston Villa didn’t quite have the space available either, and that saw the player sent back to Serie A and a loan with Bologna.
Iling-Junior has had his official Bologna unveiling today, and as part of the chat with the media afterwards he made it clear he’s happy Unai Emery was straight with him about a likely lack of opportunities at Aston Villa.
Tuttosport quote him as saying: “I spoke to the manager and I understood that there wasn’t much space for me and since I appreciate honesty I preferred to look for a team where I could have more chances.
“Here in Bologna there is a great project, as I had already seen last year. In the summer I moved to Aston Villa then came the offer from Bologna, a city that I like with a manager that I respect and I decided to come here. I was already struck by the environment, the fans last year, and I liked it a lot.”
So far, Iling-Junior has made two Serie A appearances for Bologna, totalling 70 minutes, and also picked up a brief appearance in the Champions League.
