Despite the club's success this season, fresh reports appear to suggest that one man has played his final game in Aston Villa colours.
Villa secure Champions League football
A 3-3 draw with Liverpool forced Unai Emery's side to wait a little longer for a spot in the top 4 of the Premier League and the Champions League football that comes with it, but it duly arrived 24 hours later.
Tottenham, who had to win both of their remaining games to have any hope of catching the Villans, fell to a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in a result that upset manager Ange Postecoglou more than their fans, given that it kept the Premier League title out of the reach of bitter rivals Arsenal.
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But it ensured that Villa clinched Champions League football for the first time since the 1980s, without having to worry about Sunday's result against a rejuvenated Crystal Palace in what could have been a potential banana skin.
Transfer planning for the new campaign already seems well underway; according to reports, they are looking to tie up a deal for free agent Mario Hermoso, who they are allegedly close to beating Serie A champions Inter Milan to.
Meanwhile, they have also been linked with a move for Villarreal midfielder Alex Baena, who is a rumoured target for Barcelona too and who has a release clause set at £51m in his contract with the Yellow Submarine. But there will be departures too, and one now seems imminent.
Villa star has played his last game for Emery
That comes in the form of loanee Nicolo Zaniolo, whose move to the Midlands is almost certain not to be made permanent this summer, according to widespread reports earlier in the campaign. The Italian has struggled since moving to Villa Park, failing to nail down a regular first-team spot and picking up more than his fair share of yellow cards when offered the chance to make an impact from the substitutes bench.
Now, he has played his last game for the club after picking up an injury in their draw with Liverpool, which saw him substituted minutes after coming on himself and replaced by eventual hero Jhon Duran.
Nicolo Zaniolo's disappointing loan spell
Games
25
Starts
9
Minutes played
830
Goals
2
Assists
0
Yellow Cards
7
Minutes per yellow card
119
As per the Italian media, the attacking midfielder "suffered a microfracture in his foot" which is set to keep him out of action for over a month, meaning that he will miss the final game of the season and also likely the Azzurri's European Championship defence, having also missed the tournament in 2021 through injury.
Unless Villa have a change of heart, and decide to either extend his loan spell or make a deal permanent for the £60,000 a week Italian, it seems that the pair have reached the end of the road.
