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Atalanta B.C have today confirmed that their move for Aston Villa’s Pierluigi Gollini has been completed.
Il portiere Pierluigi #Gollini definitivo in nerazzurro!
— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) June 9, 2018
#GoAtalantaGo ⚫️
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The short article on the La Dea website confirms that the Italian club have acted on their transfer option to transform Gollini’s two-season loan deal into a permanent transfer. Loan-to-buy deals are common in Italian football, but usually, the transfer is obligatory. In this instance, it seems that Atalanta were impressed by Gollini and have made their move.
This move comes as no real surprise. On the face of it, Gollini hasn’t done much in an Atalanta shirt, but he’s still very highly rated in Italian football, with Juventus and Inter lurking behind the scenes, having held interest in the Villa man for a number of season.
It is rumoured that the deal will bring €4.2 million to Aston Villa (exactly how that is spliced up isn’t yet known). Transfermarkt value ‘Gollo’ at around £3.2 million, so this deal sounds about fair and right for a goalkeeper who hasn’t yet proven himself at the highest level.
Speaking to Sky Sport Italia, the young Italian referenced what appears to be homesickness - with the line coming from him that this was a ‘personal objective and a personal victory’. Gollini’s time at Villa came to an end after Roberto Di Matteo was sacked, taking his Italian coaching staff with him.
Gollini’s fee will represent a decent chunk of money for an Aston Villa team who are barely afloat right now, but his departure surely means that Villa will need to chase depth in the goalkeeping department, with Mark Bunn the only senior goalkeeping option left at the club, with Jed Steer, Matija Sarkic and Viktor Johansson behind him. The final three have not yet played senior football (or at least an extended spell of first team footy) for the Villa.
It’s worth wishing Gollini the best of luck. He clearly didn’t want to be at Villa, so it was pointless trapping him in B6. Hopefully he can hit his potential and earn the club a bit of cash via a sell-on. Ciao.