Aston Villa and Napoli transfer target reveals he has 'always dreamed' of playing for Arsenal

A reported Aston Villa and Napoli transfer target has already described his ‘dream’ of playing for Arsenal.

Hellas Verona forward Cyril Ngonge is said to have attracted serious interest in recent months after finding form during the first half of the Serie A season. The former Belgium Under-21 international has scored six goals and provided two assists in 21 appearances in all competitions as his side battle against relegation into Italy’s second tier.

Despite Verona’s struggles to find form leaving them in the relegation zone, Ngonge has had no such issues and his future has been the subject of increasingly intense speculation over the last fortnight. Villa are reportedly keen to hand the winger an opportunity to move to the Premier League but a recent report by Sky Italy has suggested Napoli have stolen a march by agreeing a £16m fee with Verona over the last 48 hours. Fiorentina are also believed to have shown an interest in Ngonge.

As he reflected on his opening experiences of life in Italy and the impact a move to Serie A has made on his career, Ngonge has revealed a future switch to Arsenal would help him realise a dream if he was to leave Verona in the future.

He told TuttoMercatoWeb: "I didn't experience it as a gamble, but as an opportunity. This is thanks to the visibility that Serie A gives you and I knew I could show my abilities to the world.  In the next season I would like to have an even greater impact on Serie A. Hoping to play a full season.  My dream has always been to play for Arsenal. But now I'm in Italy, I really like it and so I might even want to stay. I'm joking, of course."