Aston Villa made significant progress to sign AC Milan’s Pervis Estupinan in the summer. A transfer appeared close but a deal fell through in the final stages.
Sport Witness covered the situation extensively, as Ruben Amorim vetoed the transfer. The player was keen but the Portuguese manager wanted to assess him for his back-three system. He wasalso utilised in pre-season friendlies.
As a result, the Ecuador international was brought into the first-team mix and has been a squad player this season.
Estupinan featured in Milan’s 2-2 draw against Lazio but was at fault for a goal. Diego Moreira saved the Rossoneri’s blushes but the defender’s performance could be making Milan regret the decision about the Aston Villa transfer.
Amorim blamed for mess
The left-back has now attracted criticism and Alfredo Pedulla took aim at his shortcomings.
The journalist spoke about the defender on his Youtube channel. He brought Aston Villa into the situation and slammed Amorim for his choice.
He said – via MilanNews: “You know, Moreira played poorly in Turin against Juve. I read this interpretation, I listened to it. You know, he played poorly, so we prefer to put Estupinian, who Milan had practically sold to Aston Villa, then he regretted it. Things changed, he never went to Aston Villa.”
Pedulla accused Estupinan for having fallen asleep during Lazio’s first goal. He also held Amorim accountable.
“But Estupinian is asleep, wake him up because he’s asleep, he’s asleep. It’s not the first time they’ve come up behind him, but he doesn’t even notice. It’s a reckless choice by Amorim .”
🇧🇷‼️ Kevin Viveros | Exclusive: Aston Villa and Sunderland contact for 17 goals in 25 games strikerhttps://t.co/bOdvgXwAcM #avfc #safc
— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) September 12, 2026
Our take: Player has defensive flaws
Since last season, the 28-year-old’s lack of defensive awareness has been exposed in Serie A. Against Lazio, similar was seen, as the South American failed to track a runner.
In a way, he does suit Amorim’s system as a wing-back. But the Portuguese’s setup is more structured and positional. Estupinan’s best came under Roberto De Zerbi, who allowed him to attack spaces and fly forward. Brighton would attract the opposition press, giving Estupinan a lot of space to run into.
Things are different under Amorim. While the situation could yet get better, an Aston Villa move could’ve reignited the player’s career. It would have also handed Milan the money to find a replacement.
