Nicolò Zaniolo became Aston Villa’s latest summer signing when he joined on loan this week.
The 24-year-old will be aiming to impress during his time in the Premier League on the back of a successful spell in Turkey.
Get to know Nicolò a little more…
Overcoming adversity
Zaniolo bounced back strongly from being let go by Fiorentina as a teenager.
A move to Serie B side Virtus Entella gave him a platform to showcase his skills on the senior stage aged 17, swiftly earning a move to Inter Milan after just seven appearances.
The versatile player impressed for Inter Milan Primavera, the club’s Academy side, winning a championship after bagging 14 goals in 29 games.
Breaking through in Serie A
Roma included Zaniolo and Davide Santon in a deal for Radja Nainggolan when Inter Milan signed the Belgian in June 2018.
Roma’s then Sporting Director was Monchi, who now occupies the President of Football Operations role at Villa, with the club's website stating he made Zaniolo a “key part” of the transfer discussions.
He would go on to enjoy a stellar 2018/19 campaign after making his debut against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu in the Champions League.
Zaniolo made 36 appearances in all competitions, scoring six goals and winning Serie A Young Player of the Year.
Europa Conference League winner
Zaniolo stepped up on the big stage and scored the only goal of the game as AS Roma beat Feyenoord to win the Europa Conference League in 2022.
The attacker expertly controlled the ball on his chest before flicking it past the goalkeeper in the 32nd minute.
It was a major moment for the Italian and his club, who held on to win the inaugural edition of the tournament.
Zaniolo scored five goals and registered three assists in 10 games during Roma’s successful campaign in the competition.
Representing the Azzurri
When Roberto Mancini called up Zaniolo to the Italian national team for the first time in September 2018 he was yet to make an appearance in the country’s top division, Serie A.
He had begun to feature regularly for Roma by the time he won his first cap in March 2019, coming on as a substitute in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Finland.
Zaniolo’s first goals for his country arrived on his second start when he bagged a brace and notched an assist in a 9-1 thrashing of Armenia in Palermo.
At the time of signing for Villa, the Massa native has accrued 13 caps for Italy.
A title in Turkey
Galatasaray swooped in and signed Zaniolo in February this year.
He took to Turkish football quickly and netted on his SĂĽper Lig debut, scoring the only goal in a win against Kasimpasa.
A brace against fierce rivals Fenerbahce in the penultimate league game of the season capped off a fine few months for the Italian, whose five goals contributed to Galatasaray’s first title in four years.
