Federico Chiesa to be ‘outstanding’ Aston Villa signing after £50m+ Juventus transfer development
We’re delighted to welcome former Aston Villa full-back Alan Hutton as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Villa Park…
Alan Hutton would love for Aston Villa to sign Federico Chiesa before the summer transfer window closes but admits a deal for the Juventus star would be difficult to achieve.
Chiesa, 25, was linked with a move to B6 earlier this summer with Sky Sport Italia reporting on 22 June that Villa were ready to bid £51.2million for him.
While a deal didn’t materialise, Italian news outlet CalcioMercato reported last month (12 July) that Juventus’ financial demands for Chiesa didn’t scare Villa.
Since the Chiesa speculation emerged, Villa signed another winger, Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen, who cost the Villans a club-record fee worth £51.9million [Guardian].
But when speaking about Chiesa, Hutton said he’d also like his former club to sign the Italy international but believes he Juventus forward would want Champions League football at his next club.
“Chiesa would be a signing that definitely makes them better,” Hutton told Villa News.
“He’s an outstanding footballer, he’s played at a high level for a number of years now.
“I’ve just got a feeling it would take a lot of convincing and it depends a lot on what options are in front of him. A lot of teams will be in for his signature and he’ll no doubt want to play Champions League football.
“I’d love to see him at Aston Villa. It makes them a better team. Moving forward they want to stay in European competition and these are the kind of guys to go for.
“They’ve had a great start to recruitment and Chiesa would push them on even further.
“I can’t see it happening if I’m honest. But if you can get something like that over the line, it shows their intent going forward.”
Chiesa scored four goals and supplied six assists in 33 appearances across all competitions for Juventus last season.
He missed a good chunk of the start of the campaign due to a cruciate ligament injury but ended 2022/23 with two goals and two assists in five Serie A games.
In other Aston Villa news, a big-name exit is on the cards at Villa Park if a “decent” bid is made.