Aston Villa were repeatedly mentioned as suitors to sign Matias Soule in the summer window. Their failure to land the Argentine could now turn into a transfer regret.

The attacking midfielder had an inconsistent 2025/26 campaign and was largely held back by muscle injuries. This led to Roma considering a summer sale, as they were under UEFA FFP obligations to earn capital gains.

That is when Sport Witness tracked claims from Italy about Aston Villa interest in Soule. Sunderland were also interested but the player ended up staying in the Italian capital.

The decision has paid off, with Soule having been one of Roma’s best players this season. Background on his situation has now emerged.

Villans had transfer opportunity

Gazzetta dello Sport explain the player came ‘very close’ to leaving Roma in the summer. He has gone from someone who is seen as a sellable entity to being indispensable under Gian Piero Gasperini.

Soule has now contributed to six goals in Serie A and also starred in the defeat against Manchester United.

The newspaper reveal that Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund were interested in the summer. AC Milan also made an initial approach to sign him. Roma were also keen on a sale and wanted €35m to move on from the Argentine. This would’ve given the Giallorossi the chance to sign a left sided wing-back, but by a matter of chance he stayed.

The player himself wasn’t too keen, as a ‘little voice’ inside the ex-Juventus player told him to stay.

Soule’s value is now €50m and no one at the club is even thinking about a future without him anymore.

The player is dreaming of reaching double figures for goals, as he is already on his way to achieving his best numbers in a single season.

Villa Park move may not have paid off

Soule had muscle problems last season and he needed a period of rest in the summer to get back to being fully fit. Staying at Roma and spending several weeks training under Gasperini has helped him.

The same may not have happened at Aston Villa, where the physical demands would have been different. He would’ve had to adapt to a new system under Unai Emery too. Playing in England would’ve brought different expectations.

All things considered, staying in Rome can go down as a huge turning point in his development. Aston Villa may regret it.

Sport Witness Library: Aston Villa signings from Serie A

ASTON VILLA’S SERIE A SIGNINGS Permanent transfers, free transfers & loans from Italian top-flight clubs

Player	Joined	From	Deal	Details
Martin Laursen	2004	AC Milan	Permanent	Danish centre-back signed after Milan’s Serie A title-winning season.
Libor Kozák	2013	Lazio	Permanent	Czech striker who arrived having finished as the 2012/13 Europa League’s leading scorer.
Pepe Reina	January 2020	AC Milan	Loan	Experienced goalkeeper brought in after Tom Heaton’s injury. Made 12 appearances during Villa’s successful survival bid.
Ashley Young	2021	Inter Milan	Free transfer	Returned for a second Villa spell after helping Inter win the 2020/21 Serie A title.
Robin Olsen	January 2022	Roma	Loan → permanent	Roma ended his Sheffield United loan so he could join Villa. The transfer became permanent in June 2022.
Samuel Iling-Junior	2024	Juventus	Permanent	English winger signed during the same transfer window that took Douglas Luiz to Juventus.
Enzo Barrenechea	2024	Juventus	Permanent	Argentinian midfielder signed alongside Iling-Junior after spending 2023/24 on loan at Frosinone.
Douglas Luiz	January 2026	Juventus	Loan	Returned to Villa after Juventus ended his Nottingham Forest loan. His original 2019 Villa transfer was from Manchester City.
Zion Suzuki	August 2026	Parma	Permanent	Japan international goalkeeper signed after two seasons with Parma.

RELATED SIGNING · FROM A RELEGATED SERIE A CLUB

Pierluigi Gollini	Joined permanently from Hellas Verona in July 2016. Verona had just been relegated from Serie A, so they were a Serie B club for the incoming season. Gollini made 20 Villa appearances.

Scope: First-team signings contracted from Serie A clubs, including loans and free transfers. Players are included even if they did not subsequently make a competitive Villa appearance. Olsen and Douglas Luiz are counted by their Italian parent clubs, although their preceding loans were in England. Olsen’s loan and permanent transfer are combined in one row.
Excluded examples: Nicolò Zaniolo joined from Galatasaray, Tammy Abraham’s 2026 return was from Beşiktaş, and Matteo Ruggeri joined from Atlético Madrid.
Updated: 13 November 2026.

SPORT WITNESS