Nicolo Zaniolo tells Aston Villa chiefs he never bet on football matches

The club confirmed on Friday the 24-year-old attacker is assisting an investigation into alleged illegal gambling, having last week been questioned by the Italian police.

Zaniolo, who is on a season-long loan from Galatasaray, returned early to the UK after being quizzed at Italy’s national team training camp.

He has since met with Villa’s president of football operations Monchi to explain the situation and has insisted to having not placed any bets on football.

Zaniolo has trained as normal at Bodymoor Heath in recent days and there are understood to be no qualms about his mentality heading into the visit of the Hammers, with head coach Unai Emery happy to include him in the squad.

The former Roma star will remain available for selection while the investigation continues. Zaniolo is expected to meet with prosecutors in Turin in the coming days and Villa anticipate the case will be resolved relatively swiftly, most likely within a matter of weeks.

Lawyers representing the player have claimed he only played blackjack and poker on websites he did not know were illegal at the time.

Players found guilty of betting on matches face bans of up to three years under Fifa regulations. Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali, questioned by police at the same time as Zaniolo, this week admitted to having gambled on games. He is expected to be banned for 12 months.

Emery, meanwhile, is hopeful Jacob Ramsey could return to action early next month. The England under-21 international has suffered a setback in his recovery from a broken foot but the Villa boss believes he could return in two to three weeks' time.

“He had a small injury again and we have to take the steps with him to make sure he comes back 100 per cent available, to play at the level we need,” said Emery. “Hopefully it will not be more than two or three weeks.”

Alex Moreno also remains out after suffering a setback in the final stages of his recovery from a hamstring problem.