The 24-year-old Italian made 19 Serie A appearances for Verona last season while playing with new Villa goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini.
Aston Villa may have only just secured Mile Jedinak’s services from Crystal Palace, but that has not stopped the Italian press from linking the club with a move for another midfielder.
According to Gazzettamercato.it, the Championship side have joined Udinese in the race to sign Hellas Verona star man Federico Viviani and could land his signature for a fee believed to be in the region of €6 million [£5.2 million] before the transfer window closes.
A deep-lying playmaker, Viviani began his footballing education in Roma’s academy and rose up the ranks to make his first-team debut for the Italian giants in August 2011 before taking in loan spells at Padova, Pescara and Latina over the following three seasons.
The former Italy Under-21 international only made six senior appearance for his boyhood club in the end, though, before he was sold to then-Serie A counterparts Verona last summer for a reported €4 million [£3.4 million] fee.
He subsequently experienced an injury-hit but promising campaign playing alongside new Villa goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi, racking up three goals and five assists in 19 top-flight games.
His displays were ultimately not enough to prevent the club from finishing 10 points from safety at the bottom of the table, but Gazzettamercato.it now suggest that he could be set to follow his former teammate to the West Midlands.
On the surface, Villa may not seem to have a real need for Viviani with Jedinak, fellow new boy Aaron Tshibola, Ashley Westwood, Gary Gardner and the highly-rated Jordan Lyden already at Roberto Di Matteo’s disposal, but it is not out of the question that there could be some departures from B6 over the coming week.
Westwood has recently been linked with Burnley [h/t The Mirror], so there is certainly a chance that the 24-year-old Italian is being lined up as a potential replacement should his English counterpart make an imminent move to Turf Moor.
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