Who are the two Serie A defenders being scouted by Aston Villa and Man United

Two Premier League sides, namely Aston Villa and Manchester United, have both sent scouts to watch two Serie A defenders over the course of the 2023-24 season ahead of the summer transfer window.

The two players, both right wing-backs by trade, are Inter’s Denzel Dumfries and Torino’s Raoul Bellanova. Both have turned out for the Nerazzurri over the last 12 months.

Interest in Dumfries from the Premier League has been evident for some time, as his contract is set to expire in 2025 and Inter would not like to lose him on a free transfer in just over a year’s time.

The Dutchman moved to San Siro in the summer of 2021, arriving from PSV Eindhoven for a reported fee of €12.5m plus up to €2.5m in bonuses. It is believed that Inter will request a sum in the region of €40m if he is to be sold this summer.

He has gone on to make 88 appearances in Serie A in the two-and-a-half years since his move, returning nine goals, plus a further 23 appearances in the Champions League.

Dumfries also has 50 international caps with the Netherlands and has appeared at the 2020 Euros (held in 2021) and the 2022 World Cup.

Interest in Torino’s Bellanova from both Aston Villa and Manchester United has become apparent more recently.

Tuttosport revealed on Thursday that both teams have sent scouts to watch Torino matches that Bellanova has featured in on several occasions this term.

The 23-year-old is currently enjoying a hot run of form in Serie A, after providing a goal and three assists from his last six appearances from the wing-back position in Ivan Juric’s preferred 3-4-1-2 system.

Bellanova has only been with Torino since the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign, joining on a permanent deal from Cagliari for €7m plus another €1m in bonuses.

He had spent the 2022-23 season on loan with Inter, making 23 Serie A appearances. The Nerazzurri had an option to make the move permanent for around the same sum that Torino ended up paying, but decided against doing so during the summer transfer window.

Bellanova is now into his third full season in Serie A, and has made 88 top flight appearances to date.

He has been capped by Italy at every junior level from U15s up to U21s, but has not yet appeared for the senior Azzurri side. Luciano Spalletti could amend that during the next international break in March, when Italy will play friendlies against Venezuela and Ecuador.