Aston Villa transfers: Fiorentina wary of Unai Emery interest in tricky Hellas Verona winger

Aston Villa are set to rival Serie A side Fiorentina in the race to sign Hellas Verona winger Cyril Ngonge, it has been claimed.

Unai Emery’s side have been the surprise package of the Premier League season and currently sit second in the table, three points behind leaders Liverpool and two ahead of reigning champions Manchester City.

A combination of astute recruitment and excellent coaching has seen Aston Villa emerge as contenders, with the Midlands club able to build from a position of strength in January.

According to a report by Corriere Fiorentino, Fiorentina are wary of “very rich competition” from Aston Villa in their attempts to sign Ngonge, who has five goals and two assists for Serie A strugglers Hellas Verona so far this season.

Financial concerns mean Verona are being forced to sell some of their top stars, with Swedish international defender Isak Hien signed by Atalanta on Tuesday.

There are fears that Ngonge, a former Belgium youth international, could be the next one to leave.

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Fiorentina wary of Aston Villa interest in Ngonge

The report claims that Fiorentina are considering a move having monitored Ngonge since last summer, but are mindful of interest from Villa with Verona braced for a bid from England.

The riches available to Premier League clubs in the modern game ensure Villa would comfortably be able to meet Verona’s asking price of €10-15million.

Having been part of Anderlecht’s academy as a youth player, Ngonge – son of former Watford star Michel Ngonge – made his senior debut with Club Brugge in 2020 before joining Eredivisie side RKC Waalwijk in 2020.

Ngonge’s performances for Waalwijk earned him a move to FC Groningen in 2021, with the winger signed by Verona last January.

Last summer, Ngonge revealed he had ambitions of playing in the Premier League with Arsenal, where Villa boss Emery succeeded Arsene Wenger in 2018 before replaced by Mikel Arteta 18 months later.

He told TuttoMercatoWeb: “My dream has always been to play for Arsenal. But now I’m in Italy, I love it so I might even want to stay. Just kidding, of course…”

Villa travel to the Riverside to take on Championship club Middlesbrough on Saturday, before a trip to Goodison Park to face Everton in their next Premier League fixture.

Villa were 4-0 winners in the reverse fixture in August in what was the first home match of Emery’s first full season in charge, with Villa unbeaten at home in the league so far this campaign.

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