Hellas Verona coach Marco Baroni will not be drawn on reports suggesting Aston Villa have had a £9 million accepted for Cyril Ngonge but he does admit that players who want to leave can do so this month.
Earlier this week, reports in Italy emerged claiming that Unai Emery’s Premier League dark horses had seen an offer of 10 million euros ‘verbally accepted’ by Hellas Verona.
Now, Aston Villa are renowned for pulling off eye-catching deals out of the blue – remember the shock which accompanied the sudden and unexpected additions of Danny Ings and Diogo Carlos? – but those Ngonge rumours raised eyebrows at the time and feel even odder two days on when they were reported by Tuttomercatoweb.
Especially with further reports indicating that Hellas Verona are looking for much more than £9 million for a winger who only joined from Groningen 12 months ago.
Aston Villa linked with Cyril Ngonge deal
Head coach Baroni, meanwhile, says that those looking for the life boats as the Hellas Verona ship sinks will not be forced to stick around and contribute to a fierce relegation battle.
But he was in no mood to give much away when asked about Ngonge’s future at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
Baroni tells TMW: “There is (half) a season ahead of us, and we cannot lose focus on things that we cannot control. I want to keep the team (focused) on the things that we can control.
“There are people here who want to save themselves first and foremost, and will do everything to do so. If a player cannot be held, it is clear that he must go.
“I’m interested on the pitch. Then there are some things which are true and others that aren’t.”
Ngonge has caught the eye
Ngonge, who shot to fame with a remarkable scorpion kick goal against AZ Alkmaar back in 2021, has scored five league goals for struggling Hellas this term. The 23-year-old Belgian would provide Aston Villa with cover in a variety of forward positions, having shown himself capable of thriving on the right, the left, through the middle and as an attacking midfielder too.
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