Aston Villa midfielder says spell at club had ‘so many negatives’

Aston Villa have been successful under Unai Emery but a midfielder who departed the club this summer has admitted his time at the club had a lot of negatives.

Unai Emery’s Aston Villa achieved Champions League qualification which is the first time in the club’s Premier League history that they have qualified for the elite club competition.

Villa have been busy in the transfer market under Emery as they look to remain in the Premier League’s top four this summer.

The Villains have signed Ian Maatsen from Chelsea whilst Luton Town’s Ross Barkley looks to be a steal after departing Kenilworth Road. Amadou Onana joined Villa from Everton and the Midlands club may not be done there.

However, whilst the business in general has been good, one departing midfielder has had a lot to say about his time at Villa Park.

Nicolo Zaniolo opens up on ‘negative’ Aston Villa spell

Nicolo Zaniolo spent last season on loan with Aston Villa from Galatasaray, with director of football Monchi moving to take him to Villa Park after working with him at Roma for a brief period.

The loan move to Villa Park did not work out as the midfielder suffered injury problems and was limited to just nine starts in the Premier League for the club.

Zaniolo netted just three times during an unsuccessful loan spell in the Midlands and, speaking to Italian outlet FC Inter News, he has opened up about his spell at the club.

“When I left Rome, I wanted to have another experience, abroad, because it makes you mature as a person and as a man,” he said.

“I needed and wanted to change; this doesn’t mean that I would erase everything about these two years. So many things negative, but also positive. Now I’m happy to be back in Italy and I can’t wait to get started.

“When you change country, you leave home, your family, your comfort zone. Do you want to be mature or not? So I went to England, the culture was different, the way of life too.

“I feel very mature, the Premier League is a championship different to Serie A, this experience has been added to my baggage.”

Villa made right decision to not make Zaniolo deal permanent

Whilst the Italian midfielder is clearly very talented, his injury record has been poor for the last couple of years so the signing would have certainly been a risk.

With Villa signing Onana and Barkley, who has been compared to Diego Maradona, not signing the Italian may well turn out to be a wise choice.

Jacob Ramsey will also provide a key option for the club as they look to make a decent go at the UEFA Champions League next season.