Aston Villa signed Douglas Luiz on loan from Juventus and he was the only midfielder to arrive at Villa Park in the winter market.
Before signing the Brazilian on loan, Aston Villa considered a few options, including AC Milan's Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
tuttosport Here's a report on why Aston Villa failed to sign Loftus-Cheek, and what Milan's plans are for him.
January interest in Loftus-Cheek
Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans have all been on the sidelines since January. This encouraged Unai Emery's side to consider other options before settling on Luiz.
The UK media were confident of the former Chelsea man moving to Aston Villa in the winter market, but that did not happen. Last month, Sport Witness covered Italy's claim Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri blocked his San Siro exit in January.
TuttoSport picked up and covered the Premier League team and Lazio's strong interest in the 30-year-old.
The newspaper says Maurizio Sarri and Emery put 'intense pressure' on Lazio and Aston Villa. Loftus-Cheek can play in multiple positions and this attracted both managers.
Aston Villa immediately rejected
However, the move never took shape as the England international 'immediately rejected' advances from the Biancocelesti and Villans as his preference is to remain at San Siro. He also rejected an offer of €10m per year from Saudi Arabia.
Loftus-Cheek has played 1,340 minutes in 26 matches for Milan this season and Allegri has used him in a number of roles. His contract expires in 2027. The Rossoneri could reward him for not entertaining the approaches of Aston Villa and Lazio in the winter market.
According to the report, he wants to extend his contract with the Italian club and negotiations are underway for a renewal.
The newspaper says: 'There is strong momentum and positive sentiment building towards a definitive agreement in the coming weeks.'
Tuttosport are not sure about the length of the contract, but they believe it is until 2030. With this, he will stay in Milan till the age of 34.
Despite pressure from Emery, the potential renewal makes it more complicated for Aston Villa to consider signing Loftus-Cheek in the summer.
