Aston Villa transfer problem might not come to light for two reasons
Unai Emery claimed he wasn’t expecting to sign many players this summer before the window opened, but no club in the Premier League has spent more money or signed more players than Aston Villa so far this summer – and their business isn’t complete yet.
Villa had to balance their books before the end of June and managed to do so after selling Douglas Luiz to Juventus for £42m. He followed the departures of Tim Iroegbunam to Everton for up to £13m and Omari Kellyman to Chelsea for £19m.
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Lewis Dobbin was first through the door after Villa agreed a £9m fee with the Toffees, before Ian Maatsen signed a long-term contract, leaving Chelsea for good after an impressive loan spell at Borussia Dortmund last season. Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling-Junior joined in a separate deal to Luiz’s move, for a combined £22m fee.
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Ross Barkley then joined on July 1 for £5m from Luton Town, a deal Villa had agreed for some time. The latest signings Villa have made are Jaden Philogene and Amadou Onana, which takes Villa’s transfer spend to around £130m, a similar figure to what they’ve made in sales once Moussa Diaby seals his move to Al-Ittihad.
Philogene left Villa to join Hull last summer for £5m, but Villa retained a 30 per cent sell-on clause and a ‘matching rights’ option, which they activated once the Tigers accepted Ipswich Town’s £18m bid for the winger. He is essentially costing Villa £13m, while Onana is priced at £50m.
Villa are due to sell Diaby for around £60m to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad, who are determined to make him one of their statement signings in this window. He will be the second most expensive transfer sale in Villa’s history.
“Of course the Champions League helps us, to increase our level, our demands and objectives for next year,” Emery explained when asked about what he expects from the summer window back in May. “To play Champions League for the players is something they like. The players we have here and in case we want to add players, to show them our objective, maybe it could help.
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