Aston Villa appear to have had the last laugh despite seeing former goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini now play for Champions League side Atalanta.

What's the story?

The club signed the Italian shot-stopper back in the summer of 2016 when Roberto Di Matteo was in charge, and the then Villa boss made it clear that they had made a major statement of intent with his signing.

Di Matteo insisted: "We have managed to sign him despite the fact he was being chased by a number of top sides and that is a great sign. He's a young man but has plenty of experience and I'm sure he'll prove to be an excellent signing for the club."

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In the end, Gollini managed just 20 appearances in total for Villa, before Steve Bruce made the decision to let him leave the club permanently for just £3.75m. Whilst things have worked out for him back in Italy, Villa shouldn't feel too regretful now.

Emi Martinez's arrival

Make no mistake about it, prior to the summer transfer window, Gollini's exit would surely have been looked at by Villa with a sense of regret and 'what if'.

The Italian has established himself as the number one goalkeeper for Atalanta who stunned sides across Europe by reaching the Champions League quarter-finals, before eventually losing to Paris Saint-Germain.

A cruciate ligament injury has kept him out of action for the start of this season, but with 41 appearances across all competitions in the previous campaign, there's no doubting he will reclaim his spot in between the sticks.

But whilst Gollini has impressed, Villa have solved their goalkeeping conundrum with their summer move for Emiliano Martinez. The massive Argentine arrived off the back of a FA Cup and Community Shield victories with the Gunners, and has helped his new club keep the best defensive record in the Premier League with just two goals conceded.

What was initially a massive Bruce blunder in letting Gollini go, has now seen Villa enjoy the last laugh, with Martinez set to form the backbone of their side for the next few years to come.