Italy coach Luciano Spalletti is concerned about what’s happened to Nicolo Zaniolo at Aston Villa, contacting the forward ahead of this summer’s European Championship.
The 24-year-old Italian forward has not had an easy season in the Premier League since heading over from Galatasaray on loan last summer, failing to particularly convince coach Unai Emery. After featuring fairly regularly in the first few weeks, he’s fallen down the hierarchies in recent months.
Read more: Does Zaniolo really have no significant strengths?
Zaniolo has made just one Premier League start since early November, coming against Bournemouth, and he was hooked off at half time. Since then, he’s been relegated to the bench or a brief cameo appearance in the closing stages of games.
Page 13 of today’s Gazzetta dello Sport details how Italy coach Luciano Spalletti contacted Zaniolo to discuss his situation at Aston Villa, wanting to understand why he’s hardly featuring in the Premier League. The Azzurri coach is growing increasingly concerned ahead of this summer’s European Championship.
Zaniolo is desperate to impress with the Villans in the coming months in order to carve out a spot for himself in the national team, wanting to help defend the title.
In the summer, the 24-year-old Italian will return to Galatasaray and he’s hoping to return to Serie A, with possible options including Milan, Napoli and Fiorentina.