Aston Villa could land Zaniolo upgrade in swoop for 5 ft 8 EFL wizard

Aston Villa have continued their terrific rise under Unai Emery and are currently competing for a Champions League spot in the Premier League this season.

The Spanish tactician arrived with the club sitting in 14th place with three wins in 12 top-flight matches in October of last year and led them to an impressive seventh with 15 wins in 26 games.

This season, Villa have won eight of their 12 league matches and are fifth in the table – one point off the top four and three points behind Manchester City in first.

The Villans are also top of their Europa Conference League group with three wins from their first four matches and are on course to qualify for the knockout stages.

However, there is always room to improve and the upcoming January transfer window will provide Emery with another chance to bolster his group of players.

One reported target who could add an injection of quality – and be an upgrade on Nicolo Zaniolo – is Norwich City wide attacker Jonathan Rowe.

Aston Villa transfer news – Jonathan Rowe

The Villans are one of a host of Premier League clubs reportedly showing an interest in the talented EFL starlet ahead of the turn of the year.

Earlier this month, TEAMtalk claimed that Villa, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Wolves, Burnley, and Sheffield United are all monitoring the young gem’s performances for the Canaries.

This suggests that Monchi and Emery could face significant competition for his signature if they decide to firm up their interest with an official approach for his services. Although, they have the allure of European football that the aforementioned teams are unable to offer him at this moment in time.

However, the report does not mention how much Norwich would demand for their prized asset or whether or not any of those sides are willing to make a bid.

It does state, though, that the Canaries would like to tie the 20-year-old whiz down to an extended contract in order to secure his future at Carrow Road.

His current deal is due to expire at the end of the 2024/25 campaign but the club do have an option to extend that by a further 12 months if they choose, which means that it may not end until the summer of 2026.

Norwich are said to be keen to keep hold of him throughout the January transfer window, as the academy graduate is an important member of their squad, but Villa must now test their resolve with an attempted swoop to land his signature.

Emery could secure a big upgrade on current attacking midfielder Zaniolo, who is on loan from Turkish giants Galatasaray, by bringing the versatile Rowe to Villa Park.

Zaniolo’s season in numbers

The 24-year-old, who can play out wide or through the middle as a number ten, has failed to hit the ground running in English football since his temporary switch from Turkey during the summer transfer window.

He has managed zero goals, zero assists, and zero ‘big chances’ created in nine Premier League appearances for the Villans this season, which includes six starts.

The left-footed lightweight has also failed to produce a single goal, assist, or ‘big chance’ created in four Europa Conference League outings, which includes two starts.

Alarmingly, Zaniolo ranks within the top 1% of his positional peers across the Men’s Big Five Leagues and European competitions over the last 365 days for shots (3.78) per 90 and the bottom 2% for non-penalty goals (0.00) per 90.

This suggests that the Italian midfielder is incredibly wasteful in front of goal and takes far too many shots for a player who is not a clinical finisher, by any stretch.

He cannot blame his lack of goals on the quality of chances that have fallen his way as the former Roma prospect ranks within the top 22% of players in his position for non-penalty xG (0.30) per 90 over the last 365 days.

These statistics paint an alarming picture as they show that the attacker has had a very minimal impact at the top end of the pitch for Villa this season.

He has not been able to provide quality on a regular basis and Emery could, therefore, improve his side by bringing in a player with the potential to offer more, in the way of goals and assists, during the January window.

Jonathan Rowe’s season in numbers

The 20-year-old wizard, like Zaniolo, can play out wide or through the middle as an attacking midfielder and this means that the Villans head coach could utilise his talents in a multitude of ways.

He could come in and directly replace the Italian dud as a number ten or be used further forward as a support striker, or as an out-and-out winger depending on the formation being deployed and the needs of the specific match.

Rowe’s form for Norwich this season has been particularly impressive and his attacking statistics suggest that he has the potential to be an upgrade on the Galatasaray loanee.

The England U21 international has racked up eight goals and two assists in 18 first-team matches in all competitions for the Canaries so far this term.

As you can see in the table above, Rowe has been a consistent attacking threat for the Yellows throughout his development in Norfolk, at U18 level all the way through to the first-team.

The talented youngster ranks within the top 32% of Championship wingers and attacking midfielders for shots (2.52) per 90 and within the top 9% for non-penalty goals (0.51) per 90.

This suggests that the 5 foot 8 hotshot, whose form was hailed as “scintillating” by pundit Carlton Palmer, is an efficient shot-taker who scores more goals than the average player who takes the volume of shots he does.

Therefore, Rowe could come in as an upgrade on Zaniolo if he can translate these performances over to the Premier League by offering a consistent output in the final third, which is something the Italian flop has been unable to do.

However, Norwich confirmed this week that the forward has suffered an unspecified injury whilst on international duty with England’s U21s and it remains to be seen how serious that is, which could impact Villa’s interest if it turns out to be a long-term problem.