Aston Villa are in talks to loan Alejandro Garnacho from Chelsea, just days after the Blues made the Villans’ Morgan Rogers the most expensive British footballer in history with their £117m purchase.
But what’s the thought process behind the loan deal – and how does Unai Emery’s previous interest in Liverpool‘s Harvey Elliott and Newcastle‘s William Osula, plus Jacob Ramsey’s move to St James’ Park, relate to it?
Well, Liverpool’s Elliott joined Villa on loan last summer with an obligation to buy if the midfielder made 10 Premier League appearances.
By October, Unai Emery had decided he did not want to commit £35m on Elliott, who was left in limbo and ended the season with just nine appearances.
There was a feeling from some in the game that Villa’s treatment of Elliott – in changing their minds about signing him – could easily put others off joining on a similar arrangement, due to potentially losing a year of their career.
In Osula’s case, Villa were close to a deal last summer, but they could not finalise it because of Uefa’s rules.
They sold midfielder Jacob Ramsey to the Magpies for £40m to help comply with the Premier League and Uefa’s financial regulations, but then could not move for Osula as Uefa would have viewed it as a swap deal.
Read more on the transfer situation here
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