Aston Villa have made a few major moves in the summer transfer window, with the most notable being the signing of former Everton center midfielder Amadou Onana.
The 22-year-old Belgian international replaces Douglas Luiz as the team’s best midfielder, as Luiz wanted a transfer away from Villa Park and joined Serie A heavyweights Juventus instead.
In exchange, Aston Villa acquired center midfielder Enzo Barrenechea, who was on loan at Frosinone last season, as well as young Juve first-team left winger Samuel Iling-Junior.
However, Iling-Junior and Barrenechea were not deemed ready by manager Unai Emery to be regulars for Aston Villa in the 2024/25 season, so the Lions have been looking for loan destinations for both raw players.
According to a report from Gianluca Di Marzio, Aston Villa have already found a landing spot for Samuel Iling-Junior, as they are set to loan him to Bologna for the 2024/25 season.
Like Aston Villa, Bologna qualified for the Champions League last season in an even bigger fairytale story, but they need some more players for their squad after losing stars Joshua Zirkzee and Riccardo Calafiori to Premier League giants, as well as coach Thiago Motta to Juventus.
Iling-Junior can get more minutes at Bologna than he would at Aston Villa, but he would still be able to play for a quality team and get experience at the Champions League level.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa can get him back next season as a more developed player, because Iling-Junior can still provide Emery and Co. future value, as he is only 20 years old.
A return to Serie A could be the right move for Iling-Junior, too, but, of course, Aston Villa will then have to think about the young attacker needing another adjustment period to transition to the Premier League.
The main thing is for Iling-Junior’s development to proceed comfortably. If he isn’t going to get enough playing time at Aston Villa, then at least Emery and Monchi have the foresight to put him in a position to succeed with the Rossoblu.
