Looking at this year‘s transfer window in the Premier League, it looks like Aston Villa did a great job. Not only did they strengthen their team for the upcoming season in which they will play in the Champions League, but they also made timely signings, way before everybody else, allowing coach Unai Emery to be among the only few managers who had all of his acquisitions ready for the pre-season training. But behind that succesfull story lays a deadline drama, which could have make Villa‘s transfer business into a nightmare. Just a few hours ago from the PSL deadline, the Birmingham based club was in minus and was facing a 10 point deduction. The negotiations with Juventus over Douglas Luiz were stalling and the risk was genuine.Aston Villa snatch Onana and become the biggest spender in Europe!And then Villa executives and Juventus sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli found a way through: 42 million pounds to Villa for Luiz, with Iling-Junior and Barrenechea heading to Villa Park. Both have left on loan but are considered important assets with manageable salaries who will fight for spots at Villa. Illing-Junior is U21 England national player, even thou he is of Congolese descent. Damian Vidagany, Villa’s director of football operations opened up about a challenging period just after the season ended.“Everybody was cheering and celebrating the Champions League, but Monchi and I were at the party thinking how we could avoid a points deduction that would have spoiled a wonderful season. There was a bomb with the countdown, and we were there to cut the cable. We arrived at the last second with this problem. From May 20 until June 30 is normally the holiday period for everyone in football, but for us it was a very difficult moment. It’s not just about selling players who will ensure you make a profit. At the same time you have to sell the players that Unai Emery believes are not crucial for the team. We had a lot of offers for Jacob Ramsey. But he is a player Unai wants and we were against this solution“ revealed Vidagany.Transfer recap: Crazy Chelsea and modest Manchester cityPresident of football operations at Villa added that the problem was not selling players, but rather buying well.“If we sold Ramsey, it would be solved. And we could have because we had offers. Another solution was to put Ollie Watkins on the market. We could have sold the best keeper in the world, Emi Martinez. We also had offers for him. We need to have the mindset that to sell a player means revenue for the club, because we cannot have more revenue from elsewhere. The most important thing is not selling players. The most important thing is to buy well. Manchester City sell players, Arsenal sell players, Real Madrid and Barcelona sell players. The important thing is to have a buyer and a player to replace the one you sell“ said Monchi.##NAJAVA_MECA_8314422##
