It’s fair to say that there’s been plenty said about Samuel Illing-Junior’s move to Aston Villa this summer, and then rapid departure on loan to Bologna.
However, if he wanted to dispel any of those doubts then he’s started in the right way, with Tuttosport reporting on his successful debut for the Italians.
For those that don’t know, Illing-Junior joined Aston Villa as part of the deal taking Douglas Luiz to Juventus this summer.
He and midfielder Enzo Barrenechea were both part of the agreement and initially it was insisted they would be part of Unai Emery’s squad.
That’s not proven to be true, though, as both players have ended up out on loan, joining Bologna and Valencia respectively.
That’s led to plenty of criticism, particularly regarding Illing-Junior, with many believing the pair have simply been used as pawns to help balance the books at Aston Villa and Juventus respectively.
Well, it seems the winger is keen to prove his doubters wrong and was ‘immediately decisive’ for Bologna this weekend.
Tuttosport explain that he entered the pitch as a second half substitute against Como and proved to be the hero for his new side, scoring an ‘extraordinary’ strike from distance to level the scores at 2-2 and save his side from a defeat.
He is even pictured beating his fist on the Bologna badge, perhaps as a sign to his detractors that he means business? We’ll leave everyone else to speculate on that one.
Either way, a debut goal, and a game saving one at that for the Aston Villa loanee, will certainly go a long way to dispelling some of the negativity that has been swirling around him in recent weeks.
