Samuel Iling-Junior is set to join Middlesbrough after being recalled from his season-long loan at Bologna.
Aston Villa have made the decision to end his spell in Serie A due to concerns over a lack of game-time.
Iling-Junior joined Bologna in the summer but made just 16 appearances in all competitions and did not start a Serie A match.
The English winger will now move to the Championship club for the remainder of the season.
The Athletic reported in November that Villa would be making a judgement on all their players out on loan, with the club already recalling forward Louie Barry from his loan spell at Stockport County to send him to Hull City.
Villa signed Iling-Junior from Juventus in July alongside Enzo Barrenechea for a combined fee of €22million, with both players agreeing five-year deals. In a separate deal between the clubs, Juventus signed midfielder Douglas Luiz from Villa for €50m.
Iling-Junior joined Juventus from Chelsea’s academy in 2020 and made 45 first-team appearances after making his debut in 2022. Last season, the winger played 27 times for Juventus, scoring once, and also featured regularly for the England Under-21s.
Villa have had a busy January adding Donyell Malen from Borussia Dortmund while they are close to agreeing a deal to sign Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United.
GO DEEPER
Iling-Junior’s journey from Chelsea to Serie A and Villa, by those who know him
(Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
