Aston Villa have reportedly shown interest in Roma and Italy full-back Leonardo Spinazzola, who is expected to run his contract down this summer.
The 30-year-old has had previous spells at Juventus and Atalanta, but has gone on to make 132 appearances for Roma since joining them in 2019, scoring seven goals and providing 20 assists in those outings.
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He’s also earned 24 caps for Italy and was a key figure in their successful Euro 2020 campaign before suffering an injury, and so he boasts plenty of experience at the top level both at club and international level.
According to La Roma 24, not only are there real doubts over his future with the Giallorossi as his agent, Davide Lippi, is said to have confirmed their intention to not sign a contract renewal this summer when his current deal expires, but Villa are explicitly named as one of the clubs interested in acquiring his services.
it’s added that Arsenal are also keeping tabs on the Italian full-back, and so it will be interesting to see if our touted interest is real, and whether or not we can fend off the competition and land his signature either in a cut-price deal this month, or as a free agent at the end of the season.
Predominantly used as a left-back or left wing-back, Spinazzola does have the versatility to play on the opposite side if needed too, but with Alex Moreno and Lucas Digne already at Unai Emery’s disposal, our reported interest may raise eyebrows as to why we would be keen.
As per the Athletic last week, Digne’s future continues to be a topic of discussion, with his wages and potential transfer fee significant points as a departure could help with our FFP situation and free up resources to improve and strengthen the squad.
Perhaps Spinazzola would represent a lower-cost option both in terms of any possible transfer fee if we don’t wait until the summer as well as his salary, and he could be a solid pick to compete with Moreno for a starting berth in the Villa XI.
The Italian international has the attributes and strengths that we would associate with an Emery full-back given what we’ve seen Moreno add to this side since he was signed, with his energy and technical ability providing an attacking threat down the left flank, while he is resilient and tenacious in his defensive work too.
Time will tell If this is something Villa explore further either in this window or planning ahead for the summer, but it would be an intriguing tweak given Digne has done an excellent job so far this season, prior to his injury setback and while Moreno was sidelined, and was arguably producing his best football since he joined us on a consistent basis.