Fabio Alu has yet to find a team for 2021 after his decision to leave UAE Team Emirates, but La Gazzetta dello Sport (opens in new tab) reports that Vini Zabou Blado-KTM has offered him a contract for next season.

Alou has not raced since he abandoned stage 9 of the Tour de France, drawing the ire of UAE Team Emirates advisor Giuseppe Saronni.

"Fabio has let us down for the umpteenth time.

The tirade ended a three-year run of problems during Aru's time at UAE Team Emirates. He had joined the team from Astana prior to the 2018 season, but the team failed to win a race.

While at Astana, he won the 2015 Vuelta a España, finished on the podium twice at the Giro d'Italia, and finished fifth at the 2017 Tour de France, but his move to UAE Team Emirates was less successful.

His career was interrupted in early 2019 by surgery to treat a stenosis of the iliac artery in his left leg, but his best Grand Tour success with UAE Team Emirates followed shortly thereafter, finishing 14th in the Tour de France that year.

The 30-year-old had little impact on the 2020 season, which was interrupted by a pandemic. His performances at the Vuelta a Burgos (9th) and the Mont Ventoux-Denivelle Challenge (5th) signaled the dawn of the season. Shortly after, he suffered an early and ominous crash at Il Lombardia, struggled in the first week of the Tour de France, and retired on the second day in the Pyrenees.

In a recent Instagram interview with former pro Lello Ferrari, Aru suggested that he was affected by his grandfather's death.

"The day before the Tour, I got news of a family member who was really affected. 'I didn't want to talk about it at the time, but everyone on the team knew. This news destabilized me. It happened during the Tour, but I was attacked by people who didn't know what had happened."

Asked about where he will go in 2021, Aru said, "It is an important choice and we must not rush into a decision."

In an open letter published in this month's issue of BiciSport, Aru's former director sportif Giuseppe Martinelli dismissed the possibility of a return to Astana.

"If I could, I would take you today, but you know that "Vino" has made other choices," Martinelli wrote, "I would start over again with happiness and choose the right team, not for the contract they guarantee me, but for the for warmth," he added.

Androni Giocattoli-Seidelmec coach Gianni Savio recently denied signing Aru, but La Gazzetta dello Sport reported on Thursday that Luca Sinto and Angelo Chitracca's Vini-Zav-Brado-KTM team made an offer to the team, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported. Aru's success in the Grand Tours has also made other teams interested.

Vini Zabu was invited to this year's Giro as a wildcard, but has since lost two leading riders. Giovanni Visconti rejected a residency offer and signed a 2021 contract with Bardiani CSF Faizane. Meanwhile, Luca Wackermann signed with Ivan Basso and Alberto Contador's Eolo Comenta team and will step up to a professional team next season.