Aston Villa are on the verge of completing a deal for Atletico Madrid left-back Matteo Ruggeri, with negotiations advancing rapidly ahead of the club's UEFA Super Cup commitments.

The 24-year-old is set to make the move to Villa Park after spending just one season with Atletico Madrid. His arrival will fill the vacancy left by Lucas Digne, who sealed an £8.5m transfer back to Paris St-Germain on Sunday — a move that could see Digne line up against his former club in the Super Cup in Salzburg on Wednesday.

Emery hunts his first Super Cup

Manager Unai Emery enters Wednesday's showpiece having come up short in all three of his previous Super Cup final appearances. With Ian Maatsen expected to start at left-back against Paris St-Germain at the Red Bull Arena in Austria, the Ruggeri deal represents Villa's plan for the longer term.

Villa had identified a need for greater physicality at left-back during the summer transfer window, and the club also held interest in AC Milan's Pervis Estupinan — a player Emery worked with during his time at Villarreal.

Ruggeri's background

Ruggeri joined Atletico Madrid from Atalanta last summer on a five-year contract and went on to make 47 appearances across the season. Despite his consistent contributions, Atletico finished fourth in La Liga and suffered a painful Copa del Rey final defeat to Real Sociedad on penalties.

His time at Atalanta brought significant honours — most notably a UEFA Europa League title in 2024, when he was also named in the competition's team of the season. That campaign announced him as one of European football's most promising young full-backs.

The Italian defender progressed through every level of Italy's youth setup and received his first senior international call-up in March 2025, though he is yet to earn a cap for the Azzurri.