Aston Villa considered swoop for Serie A man but were put off by his price tag

Aston Villa were interested in Torino right wing-back Raoul Bellanova in the January transfer window but were put off by his price tag, according to a report by Italian news outlet TuttoMercato.

Unai Emery was keen to bolster his options on the right hand side of defence to add more competition and depth to Matty Cash.

The Midlands outfit ended up signing highly-rated 18-year-old Kosta Nedeljković this winter before loaning him back to Red Star Belgrade to get more experience under his belt.

Bellanova, 23, stayed put at Torino past the transfer deadline last week. He is an Italy youth international and has represented his country at various different levels as he awaits his first senior cap.

He only joined his current club last summer and has been a hit with them in Serie A since then.

The Rho-born rose up through the academy ranks at AC Milan before moving to France in 2019 to link up with Bordeaux as a youngster.

Bellanova played only once during his time in Ligue 1 and was loaned out back to his native country with spells at Atalanta, Pescara and Cagliari before joining the latter on a permanent basis.

Despite his AC Milan connections from his youth, he spent last term on loan at Inter Milan and made 22 appearances for them in all competitions, 18 of which came in the league, before signing for Torino.

Aston Villa are believed to have looked at him recently but his valuation was too big.