Aston Villa have confirmed that Nicolo Zaniolo is training this week and will be available for selection when we face West Ham Utd in the Premier League on Sunday.
The 24-year-old arrived on a season-long loan deal this past summer from Galatasaray, and has since gone on to make nine appearances so far in this campaign.
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Having wasted little time in becoming a key part of Unai Emery’s plans, he’ll no doubt remain important for us in the coming months as we continue to compete across multiple fronts.
However, following reports of alleged betting activity, Villa have released a statement to confirm that the Italian international is helping with the investigation being carried out by the FIGC (Italian Football Federation) as well as the relevant authorities as he looks to clear himself of any wrongdoing.
No charges have been made against him as of yet with the investigation ongoing, and so the hope is that following the conclusion of the matter and based on their findings, that it will be proven that Zaniolo hasn’t taking part in any illegal betting activity, and will therefore not be subject to any sanctions.
In the more immediate future, Villa add that Zaniolo has been training with the first-team squad as normal this week after he returned early from international duty, and he will be available to Emery this weekend against the Hammers.
Time will tell if the Villa boss believes that he’s ready to feature though amid the off-the-pitch distractions, but it’s hoped that he will be involved in the match-day squad given the impact that he’s capable of making as we look to extend our positive league form.
Villa have likely released their statement at this particular time ahead of Emery’s pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon, and so the expectation is that he won’t be taking any further questions on the matter, with the club also noting that will be their stance now moving forward until the investigation is concluded.