Aston Villa were one of the busiest clubs in the Premier League during the January transfer window. Only Brighton (six) struck more permanent deals than Unai Emery's side (four), with £16m Morgan Rogers the headline addition.
But if Emery had had his way, then it would likely have been five. Earlier this month, it emerged that Villa made an offer to sign right-back Raoul Bellanova from Torino, but they fell short of the Serie A club's £17m asking price.
Torino director Davide Vagnati has publicly confirmed that the club "received approaches" from sides abroad, but says they regard Bellanova as a "key player". Come the summer, though, he looks destined to move on.
Villa to return for Bellanova
According to Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb, there's growing "certainty" that Premier League clubs will "knock" on the door for Bellanova this summer, and Aston Villa are a prime candidate because they've made the biggest effort to sign him so far. "Insiders" were in attendance to watch him face Lazio in a 2-0 defeat on Thursday.
"We know" – Emery is "browsing market" to replace £38m Aston Villa player
Villa have already decided to move on this summer.
ByDavid Comerford
Club president Urbano Cairo is "rubbing his hands" as he watches the value of his asset grow "day after day", and he's desperate to secure a big windfall, which will be music to the ears of Monchi and NSWE. His stock could be about to increase further as Italy manager Luciano Spaletti considers handing him a first call-up to the senior national side.
"Wonderful" Bellanova in same company as Udogie
Formerly of Inter, Milan and Atalanta, Bellanova joined Torino from Cagliari last summer and has already become one of their most important players. He's started all 25 of the league games for which he's been available and has been in particularly fine form of late, scoring his first goal in a 2-0 win over Lecce after providing a couple of assists in games against old club Cagliari and Sassuolo.
Under-23 scout Antonio Mango says he's been enjoying a "wonderful" season, and his output backs that up. According to Opta, he's one of only three defenders born in the 21st century to notch at least five direct goal contributions in Europe's big five leagues this season.
Rank
Player
Club
G+A
1
Jeremie Frimpong
Bayer Leverkusen
14
2
Yan Couto
Girona
8
=3
Destiny Udogie
Tottenham Hotspur
5
=3
Raoul Bellanova
Torino
5
He's been able to reach four assists by bombarding the opposition box with crosses – only six players in Serie A have attempted more this season, and only two have found a team-mate more often. 10th in the league for successful take-ons (32) and third for progressive carries (95), he's capable of bringing the ball into those dangerous wide positions himself before he whips it in. Villa signed Kosta Nedeljkovic from Red Star in January and also have Matty Cash at their disposal, but it seems Emery may have a use for Bellanova too.