AC Milan, Napoli and Fiorentina interested in hijacking £25m Aston Villa star

Nicolo Zaniolo could ditch a permanent move to Aston Villa and join a Serie A giant this summer, according to reports.

Unai Emery thought he pulled off a coup by persuading the Italian international to join on loan. Villa stumped up a hefty £4million fee just to bring the midfielder to the Premier League for the 2023-24 campaign.

That included the possibility of signing Zaniolo permanently for around £25million in July. However, the move has failed to work out, with the 24-year-old failing to replicate his Roma form.

It was in the Italian capital where Zaniolo made a name for himself before joining Galatasaray a year ago. The switch to Turkey failed but Villa fans were hopeful of seeing the old Zaniolo this season.

That has ultimately failed to materialise, with the midfielder failing to complete an entire 90 minutes for Emery. Zaniolo has mainly been deployed out wide when called upon but has managed just one goal and zero assists in 15 Premier League games.

He was also embroiled in the Italian betting scandal which resulted in Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali and Juventus’ Nicolo Fagioli receiving lengthy bans. Reports in Italy now claim several Serie A big hitters could offer an escape route.

AC Milan, Napoli and Fiorentina, where he played as a youth player, are the three names Tutto Mercato Web. Despite a lack of game time at Villa Park, Zaniolo is still hopeful of making the Italy squad for Euro 2024, where they have drawn Albania, Spain and Croatia.