Aston Villa are currently eyeing an Italian international centre-back to sign in the summer transfer window.

 Aston Villa have been planning for revamping the squad, and one of the positions they need to add depth to is their defensive line. The likes of Victor Lindelöf and Tyrone Mings have already past their best. Thus, they are chasing an established name with a fairly modest transfer fee for the summer transfer window.

According to the report from Tuttosport, a number of Premier League sides have been keeping tabs on the current Juventus man, Federico Gatti.

 “Crystal Palace and Aston Villa in particular have set their sights on the former Frosinone player to shore up their respective defences.”

His contract situation

The 27-year-old defender is still under contract with Juventus until 2030 following his extension in summer 2025. However, he has set his sights on playing elsewhere next season, as his regular minutes seems to have reduced quite significantly under Luciano Spalletti.

 Gatti has only made 18 appearances in Serie A. It is much less than his total games in the previous two seasons when he got a nod in 30 and 32 matches in the Italian top flight alone in the 2024/25 and 2023/24 seasons.

 What’s more, he has been approached by Galatasaray recently, but the defender is not interested in switching sides to Turkey. The centre back with eight international caps appears to be waiting for the move to the Premier League.

 Apart from Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, which are likely to play in Europe next season, there has been interest from Fulham and Everton too. His estimated price tag is around £21.61 million, which is quite affordable for them.

How good is Federico Gatti?

 The Italian international is a typical modern centre back who could join the attack and score when necessary. In a Juventus shirt, he has netted 11 goals and set up two in 134 games. This season he scored twice in the Champions League, against Villareal as both team shared spoils in a 2-2 draw, and in the playoff stage when La Vecchia Signora thumped Galatasaray 3-2.  

 Gatti has a pretty high number of shots on target and headshots this season, according to the data in FotMob, reaching up to six and seven consecutively. His successful pass rate reaches 90.9% with 63.9% aerial duels. The percentage of his successful dribbles is even 100%, while his rate of accurate long balls is 54.7%.

 With such a tendency to help the attacking build-up from the back, Gatti suits Emery’s tactic, as he can even be deployed to defensive midfielder when necessary. Considering his price tag and his experience at the top level, Villa should make a move soon as they have the advantage than the other Premier League sides with the potential Champions League spot next season. 

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