Sky Sports pundit outlines where Nicolo Zaniolo can star for Aston Villa
Italian football expert Mina Rzouki believes Unai Emery can unlock the full potential of Nicolo Zaniolo, as the versatile midfielder closes in on a move to Aston Villa.
Fabrizio Romano reported on Tuesday [15 August] that a verbal agreement has been reached with Galatasaray for the Italy international and a medical has been pencilled in for Wednesday [16 August].
Villa stepped up their interest in Zaniolo after losing Emi Buendia to a long-term injury, and Rzouki expects the 24-year-old’s versatility to come in handy at Villa Park.
Rzouki told Sky Sports News [15 August, 12:59]: “He can play in various different roles and has also been used as a deep-lying midfielder, or a box-to-box midfielder, but I’d say he can even play in the hole.
“There has been so much on Zaniolo to be that great player that he’s taken it upon himself and is sometimes so desperate to make a difference in a match that he doesn’t make the right decision.
“That’s where he’s received criticism – sometimes it’s better to pass the ball than score the goal. But if he can take off, I do think the potential is there. It’s whether you extract it, and I think Unai Emery can.”
Stability
Villa’s initial interest in Zaniolo predates the potential season-ending injury sustained by Buendia last week, with that a cruel blow for both the player and the Villans so close to the start of the new campaign.
Emery’s side have now pushed through a deal worth a reported €27million (£23m) for the Italian, whose career has not quite reached the heights many predicted during his early Roma days.
Zaniolo has himself struggled with knee injury problems, but he made 10 Super Lig appearances for Galatasaray after joining from Roma in February, having been effectively shut out by Jose Mourinho at Stadio Olimpico.
The Fiorentina academy product netted five times for Gala in those 10 outings – a scoring return Emery would no doubt love to see Zaniolo continue in the Premier League.
Emery has a knack of getting the absolute most out of players, and there is no reason why that cannot be the case with Zaniolo, who could do with some stability in his career.
Whether it is as an attacking midfielder, which looks most likely given the absence of Buendia, or in the various other positions outlined by Rzouki, Zaniolo will no doubt have a big part to play at Villa Park once the move officially goes through.
In other Aston Villa news, Gary Neville picked out two players for praise from the heavy opening-game loss to Newcastle United.