Aston Villa 24-year-old will not be at the club next season

Reports have revealed that Aston Villa will not exercise their option to permanently sign Nicolo Zaniolo this summer.

The Italian midfielder is expected to return to Galatasaray, his parent club, at the end of the season, despite initially joining Villa on a loan-to-buy transfer that included a "compulsory purchase option" under certain conditions.

Insiders familiar with the situation have informed Football Insider that Villa's management is concerned about Zaniolo's injury history, which includes a groin injury upon his arrival at Villa Park, as well as missing 105 matches since the 2020-21 season began. Most of these absences occurred during his tenure at Serie A club Roma.

After initially being a regular starter in the Premier League and Europa Conference League following his signing, the 24-year-old has seen his playing time diminish in recent months.

Manager Unai Emery last included him in the starting lineup for a league match in the 2-2 draw against Bournemouth on December 3rd.

Despite being versatile, he has only played 62 minutes in league matches since then and has been left out of the squad for five of their last 11 games. In 26 total appearances across all competitions for Aston Villa, he has only scored two goals.

Aston Villa currently holds the fourth position in the Premier League table after their 2-1 victory over Fulham on February 17th.

Their next match will be against Nottingham Forest at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon, February 24th.