Unai Emery may have hinted he’s ready to give Nicolo Zaniolo his second shot at life at Aston Villa, after praising him over the weekend.
That’s at least according to Tuttomercatoweb, who say those comments look like hint Aston Villa are ready to negotiate a permanent deal for him in the summer, albeit at a lower cost.
The newspaper explains that while Zaniolo and his entourage have been flirting with Napoli of late, Aston Villa may still have something to say on the matter.
The midfielder is currently on loan from Galatasaray and there is a right to buy included in that deal for €27m, with potential further bonuses.
A return to Istanbul is the most likely scenario but Emery’s recent comments on the Italian could be a hint of things changing.
He was full of praise for Zaniolo following the win over Arsenal at the weekend in which the Italian played a key role and that may be a hint his opinion on keeping him permanently has changed.
The question is whether Aston Villa would want to pay the fee needed but the likely scenario is that they talk to Galatasaray and try to bring it down.
They may have to work with his agents, who seem to have focused their efforts on a return to Italy, but the idea of him staying at Villa Park may not be as dead as it once seemed.
