By OkayGoal 
Aston Villa are moving closer to signing Lazio centre-back Mario Gila this summer, with Corriere dello Sport reporting that a fee of €25-30m is what the Italian club are seeking, a figure that presents no real obstacle for the Villans but would strain the budgets of domestic rivals Inter Milan and AC Milan.
Gila’s contract in Rome runs until the summer of 2027, and Lazio’s failure to agree a new deal has made a sale this summer a near-certainty. The club’s financial difficulties leave them with little choice. Selling Gila now generates a meaningful capital gain rather than risking losing him for nothing in twelve months, and Lazio’s CEO Claudio Lotito is known to drive a hard bargain even when the outcome is inevitable.
Why Aston Villa have the advantage in the Mario Gila transfer
The key point Corriere dello Sport makes is a financial one. Both Inter and Milan are listed as interested parties, but the Italian clubs’ spending capacity is significantly constrained compared to a Premier League club like Aston Villa. Lazio’s preference for selling to English clubs when the money is right is already established: the sales of Taty Castellanos and Matteo Guendouzi to West Ham last summer both followed the same logic. English clubs pay more, and Lotito knows it.
Corriere dello Sport previously reported that Aston Villa are the most interested party, described as ready to put around €30m on the table. That aligns exactly with what Lazio are demanding. The negotiations will not be straightforward given Lotito’s reputation for being difficult to deal with, as the protracted saga around Milinkovic-Savic‘s departure to Al-Hilal illustrated, but the fee being discussed is genuinely within Villa’s range. They may even be able to get the deal done for less than €30m depending on how the talks develop.
What Gila would bring to Aston Villa
The 25-year-old Spanish centre-back came through Real Madrid’s youth system and has established himself as one of the more reliable defenders in Serie A. He is composed in possession, strong aerially and capable of playing in a high defensive line, which suits the expansive football Unai Emery demands from his backline. With Pau Torres linked with interest from elsewhere and questions over the long-term futures of Victor Lindelof and Tyrone Mings, adding a young, proven European defender makes considerable sense as Villa look to build a squad capable of sustaining Champions League campaigns.
Lazio are also in a period of transition heading into next season, with Maurizio Sarri expected to leave, which only adds to the club’s willingness to start fresh and reshape the squad. Gila’s situation has moved from a question of whether he will leave to a question of where he will go, and right now, the signs point firmly towards Villa Park.
