Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has suggested that an investigation into illegal betting is impacting the form of Nicolo Zaniolo.

The 24-year-old, who is on loan from Galatasaray, is being investigated in relation to actions when he was still in Italy.

He has maintained that he never bet on football games, which means that he is likely to only receive a fine and no sporting ban.

'In terms of the individual circumstances and his mind, he has to try to be 100 percent free to try to play and we are trying to do it (help him)," explained Emery.

“At the moment we are going well with him. We're using him in one position. It is not his best position but he is helping us.

“I want to increase his level with us and I want to give him minutes to understand his team-mates, feeling good playing with us and progressively trying to forget the problems he had before."