Ruben Amorim reveals blocking Aston Villa signing and his reasons for doing so

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Estupinan joined the Serie A side in the summer of 2025, after spending five years at Brighton in the English top-flight.

The left-back was largely overlooked by then-manager Massimiliano Allegri in Italy; however, his new boss, Amorim, has revealed why he never had any intention of letting the Ecuadorian leave amid concrete interest from Aston Villa.

Aston Villa made serious efforts to attempt to bring Estupinan back to England, in need of a new left-back after Lucas Digne’s exit to PSG this summer.

Sport Witness reported in July that the Ecuadorian had agreed on certain terms to set up a Villa Park move; however, Amorim never wanted Estupinan to leave.

The Serie A side coughed up nearly £17 million to secure the left-back’s services from Brighton, and Amorim was far from happy when he heard of Aston Villa’s approach.

Under Allegri, the 28-year-old averaged under 60 minutes per game during the 2025/26 Serie A term. With Amorim as his leader, Estupinan has played 340 minutes in seven Italian top-flight matches, averaging even fewer minutes played at just 48 per match.

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Despite using the left-back even less than his predecessor did, Amorim has explained why letting Estupinan depart was never on his mind.

“At the end of the transfer window, we had a list of clubs that wanted Estupinan. But I said no. So, I want the fans to know that it was my responsibility,” claimed the Portuguese coach, who then acknowledged that a section of AC Milan fans aren’t overly keen on the Ecuadorian.

“Even at other clubs, sometimes the fans don’t like certain players too much. We have to help Estupinan, we have to help the fans understand who Estupinan is: and I can assure you that Estupinan works really hard.

“So, I want the fans to know that it was my responsibility. He’s playing because I chose Estupinan, because I believe in him and I’m convinced he’ll be truly important for our team.”

“But I understood that feeling from the first game. We simply have to help Estupinan, because we are a team: if one of our teammates suffers because of this, the whole team suffers with him and stands by him,” Amorim concluded.

Unai Emery’s men instead welcomed Aaron Wan-Bissaka to their line-up; however, an injury against Newcastle on Saturday has left the Villans shortchanged at left-back. They return to action against Viking in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Kedar Bayley Freelance Writer Kedar Bayley is a trained journalist specialising in culture reporting. As a fan of Liverpool FC, he writes on the Reds often. Knowledgable about all things sports, cinema and television, you can find his words in Screen International, FourFourTwo, Manchester Evening News and more.

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