Reports in Italy suggest that, barring any late twists, Ainsley Maitland-Niles is set to return to Arsenal without any attempt to sign him.

Roma Today report that unless there’s a late change, Ainsley Maitland-Niles will rejoin Arsenal at the end of the season.

Despite January reports suggesting Roma would make a summer move, there are currently no plans for AS Roma to renew his loan or sign him permanently.

This comes days after Roma boss Jose Mourinho opted to leave Maitland-Niles on the bench for the full 90 minutes against Spezia Calcio, which Roma Today describe as a “real rejection” of the player.

It was the first Serie A match Maitland-Niles didn’t even appear in since he joined.

Up until Tammy Abraham’s 99th-minute winner, the scoreline was level at 0-0, but the Arsenal loanee wasn’t introduced to try and change the game.

Corriere dello Sport also recently reported that the midfielder is yet to make an impact in Italy.

Maitland-Niles has now started just one of Roma’s last four games, and the last time he completed a full match was his debut on January 9th.

Having said all that, there’s still time for the 24-year-old to turn things around. Serie A runs until late May, and Roma continue to be involved in the Europa Conference League.

You’d expect Maitland-Niles to find some opportunities between the two competitions. He needs to use those chances to make more of an impression than he has so far.