Aston Villa are reportedly expecting the investigation around Nicolo Zaniolo’s alleged betting activity to be resolved in the coming weeks.
The 24-year-old arrived on a season-long loan deal this past summer, and has quickly established himself as a key figure in Unai Emery’s squad.
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However, after returning early from international duty with Italy last week, the club released a statement on Friday confirming that he was assisting the relevant authorities with their investigation into alleged betting activity.
Villa went on to confirm that the Italian international had been training with the first-team squad this week and he is available for selection against West Ham Utd on Sunday, and so the hope is that he will be cleared of any wrongdoing as soon as possible to put the matter behind him.
As per The Express and Star’s Matt Maher, Zaniolo is expected to talk with prosecutors in Turin in ‘the coming days’, while Villa expect the matter to be resolved in a ‘matter of weeks’.
It’s certainly hoped that touted timeline holds up, as ultimately the quicker that Zaniolo can move on from this the better, as it will take away any off-the-pitch distractions and allow him to continue to play an important part in our push for success this season.
Importantly, he has not been charged or found guilty of any wrongdoing thus far. The above report adds that he has discussed the situation with Monchi and has insisted he didn’t place any bets on football, while his lawyers are said to have communicated that he only played blackjack and poker online on sites that he wasn’t aware were illegal at the time.
Hopefully that is proven to be the case in the ongoing investigation and he doesn’t receive any sanctions, but there will no doubt be a willingness from all concerned to get the matter resolved as quickly as possible regardless of whether or not Zaniolo can continue to play in the meantime.