Aston Villa signed Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea from Juventus in July 2024. The Villans sent the duo out on loan as Unai Emery hasn’t considered them at Villa Park.
Iling-Junior had loan spells at Bologna and Middlesbrough during the 2024/25 season. Last summer, Aston Villa sent him on loan to West Bromwich Albion, and he failed to shine at The Hawthorns.
The winger scored one goal and failed to contribute an assist from 1,290 minutes from 24 matches in all competitions for West Brom.
Aston Villa man’s ‘surprise’ loan move
On winter deadline day, Sport Witness covered claims from Italy of Pisa’s ‘surprise coup’ to sign the 23-year-old. The source mentioned his temporary transfer as a shock move.
The Aston Villa owned player completed a loan move to the Serie A side until the end of this season. Last weekend, he came off the bench to make his debut in Pisa’s 2-1 win over AC Milan.
On Tuesday, Pisa presented the Englishman and another January signing, Rosen Bozhinov, to the local media. Calcio Pisa have relayed comments made by the Villans man.
Negotiations with Pisa
Iling-Junior reveals he made a decision to join the Italian club, after holding talks with their officials. He mentioned this when asked about the negotiations with Pisa for his loan move.
“It went great. We talked. I saw the opportunity, and knowing Serie A well, I saw a possibility. We’re close to staying up, we have to always think about that,” he said.
“I spoke immediately with the director and the coach. I know the city well because it’s very famous and I arrived in a top locker room. There’s a good vibe. It doesn’t feel like we’re living in the situation we’re in.”
Pisa, who are now 19th in the table, nine points behind 17th placed US Lecce, signed him on loan without a purchase option.
When asked about his dry loan, Iling-Junior explained. “For now, I’m just thinking game by game. I need to grow and improve to help the team. Staying up first, then we’ll see. Everything can always change.”
This indicates he hasn’t made a decision on his future beyond this season.