Aston Villa are reportedly considering recalling Samuel Iling-Junior from his season-long loan move with Bologna due to his lack of playing time.
The 21-year-old was signed this past summer from Juventus as part of our dealings with the Turin giants, which also saw Enzo Barrenechea join us, while Douglas Luiz moved in the opposite direction.
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Both Iling-Junior and Barrenechea were sent out on loan for the season as they look to gain valuable experience and playing time, and while it’s working out for the latter thus far, it doesn’t appear to be a similar situation for the former at Bologna.
Having made just 12 appearances so far this season, totalling 407 minutes of football, and with 14 minutes coming in the last eight Serie A games since he returned from injury, it’s clearly not an ideal scenario for the player or Villa as we look to monitor his development and see his game improve.
According to The Athletic, Villa are now said to be considering the option of recalling Iling-Junior in January, and in turn the club will then try to find a new landing spot for him for the second half of the campaign that will hopefully prove to be more productive for him in getting regular minutes.
Should that materialise, it’s a sensible move from the club, as ultimately whether it’s a decision made with the view of Iling-Junior coming back and being part of Unai Emery’s plans in the long-term future, or protecting our investment and looking to maximise his value by impressing while out on loan, his current situation isn’t helping anyone.
If he can enjoy a more successful run in the back-end of the season elsewhere, that would be preferable, and based on what we’ve seen at Bologna over the past month or two, that doesn’t look likely to happen there.
Should Villa exercise their option to recall him as suggested in the report above, it will be interesting to see where he might go next, as naturally, the club will want him to play at a similarly high level, and so it could be another move elsewhere in Europe for Iling-Junior as he continues to make his case for a role at Villa next season.
