Aston Villa are chasing the signature of an Italian star who is currently playing for a La Liga giant.
Aston Villa transfer plans are moving quickly in the search for a new left-back following the impending departure of Lucas Digne. They were previously pursuing Ecuador international Pervis Estupinan, who also played under Unai Emery during their time together at Villarreal.
Unfortunately, negotiations have stalled as Estupinan’s current club, AC Milan, now have a new manager, Ruben Amorim, who wants to assess the defender before deciding whether to sanction his departure. With talks no longer progressing, Emery needs to find an alternative quickly. That has led Villa to Atletico Madrid left-back Matteo Ruggeri.
According to a report from Marca, Villa are the latest club to express serious interest in the Italian.
“The latest club to show firm interest in him is Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, who want to sign him immediately. The English club has made a determined move for the player, and it’s even possible the deal could be finalized right away.”
Ruggeri only joined Atletico Madrid from Atalanta last summer. He signed a contract until the summer of 2030, with Atletico reportedly paying £14.6 million for his services.
Ahead of the 2026/27 season, however, the 24-year-old left-back has found himself in an uncertain situation after being left out of first-team training. The arrival of Alejandro Grimaldo from Bayer Leverkusen appears likely to push him down the pecking order despite Ruggeri being a regular starter last season.
Aston Villa appear to be leading the race for his signature, with Emery keen to complete the deal as soon as possible. Juventus and AS Roma are also monitoring the situation, but neither club has made a concrete approach.
Atletico are reportedly willing to sanction a transfer for around £21 million. The final decision now rests with the player, who is believed to be weighing up his options. Villa certainly offers better chance in terms of competition with Champions League compared to Juventus. It would be tough to lure him if he prefers to reunite with his former boss in Atalanta, Gian Gasperini in Roma.
The left-back, who is yet to make his senior debut for Italy, made 47 appearances last season, registering seven assists. One of his standout performances came in the Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona, where he provided the assist for Atletico’s second goal by Alexander Sorloth in their 2-0 victory at Camp Nou.
According to FotMob, Ruggeri enjoyed an impressive campaign. He recorded an 86.8% pass completion rate, 55.7% long-ball accuracy and a 33% cross accuracy rate, while posting an expected assists (xA) figure of 3.84.
The former Atalanta defender, who helped La Dea win the 2024 Europa League, also excels in aerial duels, winning 59.1% of them—an attribute that could prove valuable in the Premier League.
His defensive numbers were equally impressive, recording 124 defensive actions, including 36 tackles, 20 interceptions, three blocked shots and 65 clearances.
Ruggeri’s main weakness appears to be his dribbling and success rate in ground duels, where he won only 44.2% of his contests. That is an area he would need to improve should he make the move to Villa Park.
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