Matteo Ruggeri gets Italy call-up as Aston Villa track defensive options
Matteo Ruggeri has been called into Italy's senior squad after Federico Dimarco's knee injury, capping a timely boost for the Aston Villa left-back after Ian Maatsen's injury increased his chances of regular football.
Villa's 18 loanees have made mixed starts. Andres Garcia, Oliwier Zych, Kadan Young and Kane Taylor have started well, while others have struggled for minutes or impact.
Unai Emery watched Harvey Elliott come off the bench in Valencia's 3-2 defeat to Real Sociedad, reigniting questions over Aston Villa's decision not to sign him permanently after his loan spell.
Aston Villa have nine players away on international duty, including John McGinn, Matty Cash and Nicolas Jackson, while George Hemmings has joined the England Under-20s.
Leon Goretzka, still sidelined by a knee injury and yet to feature for Villa, returned to Munich for Oktoberfest alongside former Bayern Munich team-mates.
Aston Villa are tracking Paraguay centre-back Mauro Coronel, 18, as a long-term option, but Brighton are reported to be among the frontrunners before his contract expires in December.
Aston Villa are monitoring Bayern Munich centre-back Kim Min-jae as Unai Emery weighs defensive reinforcements, with the 29-year-old potentially available for around €25-30m.
Woody Burgess impressed in Villa Under-21s' 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough, excelling in possession and defence, but faces strong first-team competition from Matty Cash and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
After Villa's 3-2 win at Tottenham, Jan Paul van Hecke criticised team-mate Andy Robertson's error for the opener, while Villa's scorers were Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and Emi Buendia.
Tyrone Mings has gone under the radar but his displays, including the 3-2 win at Tottenham, have made him Villa's best-rated centre-back option so far this season.
