Ruggeri, a 24-year-old former Italy Under-21 international, only joined Atletico Madrid from Atalanta last summer for a fee in the region of €20m, and has made 26 LaLiga appearances and 47 in all competitions since, having previously made 109 appearances for Atalanta and won the Europa League with the Bergamo club in 2023-24.
Atlético would be open to a sale worth around €25m if the player wanted to leave, representing a healthy profit on their outlay. His path forward in Madrid narrowed after Atlético signed Alejandro Grimaldo from Bayer Leverkusen, who looks set to be Diego Simeone's first choice at left-back this season, and Ruggeri's agents, Tullio Tinti and Manuel Montipó, have already met sporting director Mateu Alemany to discuss his situation, with the player left out of first-team training as a result.
AS Roma and Juventus are also interested in taking him back to Italy, giving him options beyond the Premier League.
Aston Villa had previously pursued Pervis Estupiñán of AC Milan as their preferred Digne replacement, but new Milan head coach Ruben Amorim wanted a closer look at the Ecuadorian in pre-season before sanctioning any exit, stalling that deal and pushing Villa to widen their search.
Unai Emery values Ruggeri's tactical flexibility, with the Italian capable of playing as a traditional left-back, an aggressive wing-back, or on the left of a back three, and considers him a clear upgrade in defensive quality over other options being considered.
Villa have also made a check on the availability of Marseille winger Igor Paixão, who also features on Leeds United's list of targets, as Emery continues reshaping his squad following the departures of Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen.