Nicolo Zaniolo made a painful error in Aston Villa’s defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday night, infuriating the fans and earning much criticism.
The 24-year-old Italian forward has not looked a convincing figure with the Villans since his arrival from Galatasaray last summer and seems destined to return to Turkey in the summer. He’s keen for a return to Serie A, something that was recently highlighted by his agent.
Unai Emery started Zaniolo in Aston Villa’s Premier League clash with Manchester City on Wednesday evening, and he made a crucial error by moving in the wall to allow Phil Foden to score a free kick just before the end of the first half, infuriating the fans inside the stadium and online.
Zaniolo furore
TMW highlights how chants of ‘go back to Italy’ were aimed at Zaniolo after his error, making the fans’ feelings plainly apparent. He come off in the 77th minute with an apparent injury, ending a miserable evening for the Italian forward.
The 24-year-old has managed just three goals across 33 appearances for the Villans, but is still hopeful of making the cut for Luciano Spalletti’s Italy squad for the upcoming European championship.
He needs consistent playing time and a coach who believes in him. Spalletti believes in him.
Bring him home and to a coach that will too.