Aston Villa target Leonardo Spinazzola's agent confirms transfer plan amid Arsenal links
Roma defender Leonardo Spinazzola has been touted as a transfer target for Aston Villa and his agent has spoken about the player's future
Roma defender Leonardo Spinazzola’s agent has spoken out about his client’s future amid links with a move to Aston Villa.
The Italy international, 30, primarily operates as a left-wingback and has made 17 total appearances for Roma this season, registering four goal contributions. Spinazzola first came to wider attention as one of the standout players during Italy’s route to winning Euro 2020.
The defender began his career at Juventus, where he spent seven seasons out on loan, before joining Roma in 2019. However, his contract is set to expire this summer, leading to reports that both Villa and Arsenal are targeting a deal for the full-back.
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Italian outlet LaRoma24 has claimed that Villa and the Gunners are interested in the 30-year-old, whose time in Rome appears to be coming to an end. His agent Davide Lippi was asked about the chances of Spinazzola extending his time with Roma and his representative gave a clear answer.
“There’s no chance for a contract renewal,” Lippi told SportItalia. “We’ll wait and see how things develop during the January transfer market, otherwise his contract will expire in June and he’ll become a free agent.”
His contract situation, combined with manager Jose Mourinho increasingly favouring academy graduate Nicola Zalewski in his position, means that Spinazzola could well be keen to move on in the January window. Last January, Villa completed a surprise deal to bring in Alex Moreno to compete with Lucas Digne for the left-back berth and Spinazzola would represent another bargain deal, if he was to arrive this month.
Before the start of the season, there were various reports that Digne would be heading away from Villa Park in the summer. However, Moreno’s recovery from injury ultimately led Villa manager Unai Emery to rely on the France international, who registered six goal contributions in 26 games until picking up a hamstring injury on Boxing Day.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are claimed to be in the market for a left-back to rival Oleksandr Zinchenko, having already seen summer signing Jurrien Timber suffer an ACL injury on his Premier League debut, back in August.