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It's not January yet. In fact, it's not even December. But we're still in the middle of an international break, so what else to do besides hit you with transfer rumors? Yesterday, we dismissed the idea of Mousa Dembélé joining Aston Villa for seemingly the 519th time. Today, we've got something a bit more unique: Danilo D'Ambrosio.
"Who?" you might well be asking. If you don't follow Italian football closely, D'Ambrosio might not be on your radar (unless he was a fabulous Football Manager CheapPick at some point; I don't know, I'm not good with my FM knowledge). But, if this rumor is somehow true, D'Ambrosio might not be a bad acquisition for the Villa.
At 25 years old, the defender is just coming into his prime. D'Ambrosio started out at right back, but under Giampiero Ventura at Torino, has gained a certain amount of tactical flexibility. He can play both sides and as both a fullback in a four-man back line and out wide in the midfield band of a 3-5-2 -- something Paul Lambert has been tinkering with this season. Plus, he's now Toro's leading left back, a position Villa could certainly stand to strengthen.
So a versatile, fairly young defender. What's the catch? He's got to be expensive, right? No, D'Ambrosio's contract runs out next June, meaning Torino are likely to try and ship him off in January. The only real issue would be that Villa are likely to get beaten to the table by the likes of, say, Napoli, who have plenty of money and have the advantage of being D'Ambrosio's hometown club.
What do you think, Villa fans? Too good to be true? Or is the club really going to be chasing after D'Ambrosio?