Aston Villa Left Waiting For Deal Green Light, Reason Clear | OneFootball

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Aston Villa and Matteo Ruggeri are waiting for Atletico Madrid to secure the Italian’s replacement before the transfer can be sanctioned.

Unai Emery’s side have been in the market for a new left-back since Lucas Digne completed his move to Paris Saint-Germain.

The Villans had initially made Pervis Estupinan their choice and edged closer to taking him to the Midlands, only for the move to ultimately collapse.

Aston Villa subsequently settled on Ruggeri as their preferred solution to strengthen the left-back position and went on to reach an agreement with Atletico Madrid over his transfer.

There were initially reservations over whether the Italian would be willing to trade life at the Metropolitano for a move to the Villans.

The Midlands outfit eventually swayed the defender, securing his approval for a switch to Villa Park and clearing the terms needed for the transfer.

The move has nevertheless been held up by internal processes at Aston Villa before everything can be brought to a conclusion.

Aston Villa could now be forced into a longer wait for Ruggeri, with Atletico Madrid first needing to fill the vacancy his departure would create at left-back.

The La Liga giants have been pursuing Jorge Salinas for that role, while Racing Santander have offered the Spaniard a pay rise in an attempt to persuade him to stay.

The youngster, however, has yet to accept the improved terms, remaining intent on making a switch to Metropolitano this summer.

As a result, Atletico Madrid ‘could finalise the deal this week’ and bring Salinas into their squad, according to Spanish journalist Nacho Donado.

In the meantime, Aston Villa and Ruggeri will be waiting in the wings for that piece of the puzzle to fall into place before they can finally come together.

The Villans are set to pay Atletico Madrid €25m plus €1.5m in bonuses to secure the Italian’s services.

Meanwhile, Emery’s side’s next summer arrival could be Zion Suzuki, with an official announcement for the shot-stopper expected very soon.