Pierluigi Gollini has spent the last 18 months at Serie A club Atalanta on loan from Championship side Aston Villa.

Aston Villa reportedly need to raise £40 million to avoid Financial Fair Play sanctions this summer and it seems that they are now around £4 million closer to reaching their target. Every little helps, after all.

According to Gianluca di Marzio, Atalanta have taken up the option to sign goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini on a permanent deal which is understood to cost in the region of £4 million. The 23-year-old has reportedly signed a contract with the Serie A high-flyers until 2023, although there has been no official confirmation from Villa just yet.

One-time Manchester United youngster Gollini has been on loan at Atalanta since January 2017 but has made just 11 Serie A appearances, with the Albanian international Etrit Berisha firmly established as the number one for Gian Piero Gasperini’s overachievers. Gollini kept three clean sheets in seven league outings in 2017/18.

And this move brings an end to a disappointing spell at Villa that initially promised so much.

The highly-rated Italian was expected to be the club’s number one for years to come when he arrived from Hellas Verona in 2016 alongside compatriot Roberto Di Matteo.

But when Di Matteo was replaced by Steve Bruce a few months later, Gollini was left out in the cold after a couple of crucial errors and quickly returned to Italy.

In other news, 'Smith's best signing': Some Villa fans think last summer's buy is now a huge 'bargain'