Aston Villa have reportedly seen our interest in Federico Chiesa turned down, despite making a touted €60m offer to Juventus for the Italian international.
The 25-year-old returned from a serious injury last season to score four goals and provide six assists in 33 appearances for the Bianconeri across all competitions, while he has four goals in 41 caps for Italy.
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Given his attacking strengths combined with his work ethic and energy on the pitch, it’s easy to see why Unai Emery may have targeted him as a key addition to his squad this summer, as he arguably fits our system and style of play perfectly.
However, it doesn’t appear as though a move will materialise, with Chiesa said to not be interested in the switch.
According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Villa hold an interest in the Italian international, who is also on Newcastle Utd’s radar, but despite making a €60m offer to try and prise him away from Turin, it’s noted that the player himself isn’t interested in joining us.
There is some scepticism surrounding the report though, as there’s no mention of whether or not Juventus had accepted or rejected the bid, which arguably would have been the first obstacle before Chiesa’s wishes were known. Further, to make an offer before enquiring with the player’s agent as to whether he would even be interested in the move also raises question marks.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t appear as though he will be joining us this summer either way, and so our search for attacking reinforcements will continue as Emery looks to bring in a new option on the right side of midfield.
That appears to be a priority for the Villa boss after our touted pursuit of Nico Williams too, and so time will tell who will emerge as our ideal solution in that department, with Bertrand Traore likely to have been seen as a short-term fix after his return from a loan spell in January.
Villa have already secured the signing of Youri Tielemans on a free transfer to bolster our midfield options, and while it doesn’t appear as though Chiesa will be joining him at Villa Park next season, we’ve undoubtedly still got plenty more business to do this summer to allow Emery to strengthen his squad ahead of a big year for us.