Aston Villa have had an impressive summer of transfer movements, however nothing could’ve prepared Unai Emery for the misfortune set to hit the club at the start of the league campaign.
An opening day 5-1 defeat to Newcastle United was the least of the Spaniard’s problems, as both Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings suffered extensive knee injuries that will leave the pair away from the action for the foreseeable future.
The Villans must now look for further reinforcements following the double injury blow, with one target expected to be close to joining the club according to the latest update.
Who could Aston Villa sign to solve injury woes?
As widely speculated, the Midlands club are closing in on their fourth summer signing, with Galatasaray forward Nicolo Zaniolo set to be unveiled as a Villan in the coming days.
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As reported by the Daily Mail, the Italian will sign on an initial £3m loan deal at Villa Park, with an option to buy included, which is said to be in the region of £19m.
Journalist Fabrizio Romano speculated that the 24-year-old will undergo a medical on Wednesday with personal terms already agreed between club and player.
Is Nicolo Zaniolo the right move for Villa?
Once hailed as a “lethal playmaker” by journalist Zach Lowy, Zaniolo could be an exciting new addition to the squad constructed by Emery.
Deployable as both an attacking midfielder and on the right flank, the skilful Italian made the move from his homeland to join Galatasaray in February, signing from Roma.
After just six months with the Lions, the 24-year-old is set to be on the move again, with Villa knocking on his door, but in such a short period of time, Zaniolo made quite the impact in Turkey.
In 10 Super Lig appearances, the Fiorentina youth product netted five goals, to showcase just how prolific he can be in the final third, posing a strong option for Emery to consider replacing the injured Buendia.
Positionally, the Italy international seems the perfect fit to fill the void left by the Argentine, however, there is far more to be considered than his on-field ability.
In fact, Emery could be in for a nightmare, with Villa obtaining a player full of potential, but cursed by recurrent injury throughout his still developing career and described as “injury-prone” by Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley.
With Mings and Buendia out with worrying knee injuries, there are not many players that would understand the pain and misfortune of suffering extended periods on the sidelines than Zaniolo.
The 24-year-old has missed more days in his career due to injury than he has made domestic appearances, being absent for a recorded 575 days throughout his career so far, compared to his 226 match appearances.
Like the player he will be fielded to replace, the Italian missed a hugely significant period of his development to two anterior cruciate ligament ruptures, both agonisingly coming in 2020.
While his talent is attractive, Emery could be leading Villa towards another injury nightmare by signing Zaniolo, who is currently out of action and nursing a groin strain.
With the season only just underway, the club must avoid further injuries, especially European football incoming and league and cup fixtures set to come thick and fast, with the pending arrival sadly posing to be a huge risk of absence.
