On August 18th, Aston Villa signed Nicolò Zaniolo from Galatasaray on a loan deal with an obligation to buy if certain set targets are achieved.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Galatasaray vice-president Erden Timur explained why the 24-year-old decided to join the Villans, and his comments are relayed by Hürriyet.
The Aston Villa summer signing arrived in Turkey on a permanent transfer from AS Roma in January.
The winger clocked in less than 500 minutes from 12 games for the Istanbul club in the second half of the last season, managing five goals and an assist in the process.
“Zaniolo came to us six months ago. Since he came to an established team, he got less game time than he expected. It was a team that always won. Our coach also wanted to see different alternatives in that position. Zaniolo also had a desire to go to the Premier League,” he said.
The Galatasaray vice-president then explained his club are in line to make a profit if Unai Emery’s side were to make Zaniolo’s loan stay permanent next year.
“It was a record in terms of loan [fee]. If the option is exercised, a high fee will come. We bought him for €15m. We made this sale for more profit. When Zaniolo’s conditional mandatory purchase option is exercised, Galatasaray will receive just over €30m. It can also go over €35m will bonuses.”
The former Roma man has made two substitute appearances this season for Aston Villa.
