Aston Villa have announced the signing of Nicolo Zaniolo on loan from Galatasaray, with the attacker set to spend the 2023-24 campaign at Villa Park.
There has been a host of speculation surrounding the Italy international's future in recent weeks, but Villa have emerged as the clear favourites to sign him of late.
On Friday evening, Villa announced that a deal had been agreed to loan Zaniolo for the rest of the season, and there is believed to be a compulsory purchase option included.
According to reports, Unai Emery's side have paid in the region of £4.3m to loan the Italian for the 2023-24 campaign, but if certain milestones are hit, then Villa will pay £19.2m plus up to £13.2m in add-ons to bring him to the club on a permanent basis.
Zaniolo made 128 appearances for Roma between 2018 and 2023 before moving to Galatasaray in January, and he has scored five times in 12 appearances for the Turkish outfit in all competitions.
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"I'm very happy to be here," Zaniolo told VillaTV. "When Monchi called me, I couldn't wait to be here and to play my first minutes in this shirt for this amazing club.
"Aston Villa is one of the best teams in England and in the Premier League. I want to play and show my quality.
"Unai Emery is one of the greatest coaches in the world. And for me, this is a big occasion to show my quality. For the team, it's a chance to do big things.
"The Premier League is the most important championship in the world. It was my dream when I was young that one day I would play in the Premier League. Now I'm here and I can't wait to play."
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Zaniolo, who will wear the number 22 shirt for Villa, has been capped on 13 occasions by Italy, finding the back of the net on two occasions for his country.
The attacker has become Villa's fourth signing of the summer after Pau Torres, Youri Tielemans and Moussa Diaby.
Sevilla's Marcos Acuna is currently being heavily linked with a move to the club, with the Argentina international potentially following Zaniolo to Villa Park in the near future.
Emery's side will be bidding to bounce back from their 5-1 loss to Newcastle United on the opening weekend of the new season when they host Everton on Sunday afternoon.
Matt Law
