Pierluigi Gollini has left Aston Villa for Atalanta.

The goalkeeper spent much of his career in England, joining Manchester United's youth academy in 2012, then at Aston Villa for the last six months.

“I already had contact with Atalanta over the summer, then in January Marco Sportiello left and the opportunity opened up," Gollini told ANSA.

He arrived on a two-season loan with option to buy.

“I returned to Italy with the intention of staying and continuing my career here. The condition I had set my agent for me to stay in Birmingham was to have an Italian goalkeeping coach. That was the situation, with Massimo Battara, until the manager Roberto Di Matteo was fired.

“I played a great deal at Villa, but I wasn't happy with the training regime."