Nicolò Zaniolo was heavily linked with a move to AC Milan during the summer window but he ended up in the Premier League, where he has not really blossomed to this point.
Calciomercato.com recall that after the adventure he had in Turkey with Galatasaray, the chance to try the Premier League and even join a club competing in Europe there was too big a chance to turn down.
However, things have not been going well. Even in last night’s match against Chelsea, a replay in the round of 32 of the FA Cup (won by the Blues 3-1), the usual script was repeated: the forward started on the bench and got a few minutes at the end of the match.
Zaniolo has 27 appearances for Villa but only 11 starts, meaning he has not even reached 1000 total minutes played, and he has just two goals of which one was in the league against Sheffield United and one was in the Conference League against Zrinjski Mostar.
Villa are ready to send him back to Galatasaray at the end of the season – a club with whom Zaniolo has a contract valid until 30 June 2027 – because the €22.5m option to buy plus €15.5m in bonuses are deemed too high.
Galatasaray will have to make do with the €5m loan fee they got and might have to say goodbye to the 10% resale clause too, but they might still owe Roma €10m in bonuses in addition to 20% of the proceeds from a future sale.
What next for Zaniolo? Upon returning to Turkey, the former Roma player will express a single wish: to return to Italy and to Serie A where he demonstrated most of his talent.
His desire will be decisive, as is his wish to return to Luciano Spalletti’s plans for the Italian national team. Zaniolo’s name may come back into vogue for Milan, but Napoli and Fiorentina are on alert too and are looking for reinforcements.
