Aston Villa and Arsenal transfer target joins former Chelsea and Spurs boss

Reported Aston Villa transfer target Leonardo Spinazzola has joined Italian club Napoli on a free transfer.

According to reports in Italy in January, Spinazzola was a target for both the Villa and Arsenal, but he stayed put in Italy with AS Roma. Some went even as far as to say Spinazzola was offered to Villa, but those reports were played down by reporters in England.

The 31-year-old has moved on from the Italian capital however and has joined Napoli on a free transfer. Spinazzola, a star for Italy at EURO 2020 before suffering an injury, has signed a two-year contract at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

Napoli have recently been taken over by former Chelsea and Spurs boss Antonio Conte. It was added that Conte had a real desire to sign Spinazzola and he has landed his man.

Fortunately for Villa, they won't be stung by one of their reported transfer targets. Napoli finished 10th in Serie A last season, and so they missed out on European football. They are trying to be proactive in the transfer market and recently signed Rafa Marin for €12m from Real Madrid.

Aston Villa have obviously moved on from Spinazzola as they signed Ian Maatsen from Chelsea for a reported fee of around £37.5m. Lucas Digne will provide the Dutch defender with competition for that left-back spot but there could be some movement in that position.

Spanish defender Alex Moreno was recently used as a transfer makeweight in a proposed bid for Besiktas wonderkid Semih Kilicsoy. Villa were unsuccessful in their approach, but it could signal that the 31-year-old's time at Villa Park is up.

In mid-June it was reported that Moreno was willing to take a pay cut to return to Spain. Real Betis, who Villa signed Moreno from for £13.3m has been touted as a potential destination with Moreno willing to dramatically reduce his wages to make the move possible.