Aston Villa have sanctioned the €50m (£42.4m) sale of Douglas Luiz to alleviate concerns about meeting the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability regulations (PSR).
The Brazil midfielder is the most high-profile departure from Villa Park this summer but the sales of Omari Kellyman and Tim Iroegbunam – both of whom are classed as homegrown – to Chelsea and Everton generated a further £30m before the league’s deadline for submitting annual accounts on Sunday.
This week Villa completed the eye-catching £37.5m signing of Ian Maatsen, boosting Chelsea’s PSR picture and also added Lewis Dobbin from Everton. PSR rules permit losses of up to £105m across a three-year period.
Only Ollie Watkins made more league starts than Douglas Luiz for Villa last season but there was a recognition that, despite qualifying for the Champions League, they needed to sell an asset to try and steer clear of breaching the regulations. The 26-year-old is currently in the United States on international duty at the Copa América.
In a a separate deal, Villa are expected to sign the 20-year-old Juventus forward Samuel Iling-Junior, a former Chelsea youth product, and 23-year-old midfielder Enzo Barrenechea, who spent last season on loan in Serie A at Frosinone. Villa are also poised to complete the signing of Ross Barkley from Luton. Barkley spent the 2020-21 season on loan at Villa from Chelsea.
Maheta Molango, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, has described the loophole that encourage academy products to be sold by clubs in order to balance the books as “nonsensical”. Molango has called on the league to consider changing its rules.
Philippe Coutinho is close to returning to boyhood club Vasco da Gama, while Villa would listen to offers for Jhon Durán and Diego Carlos. The academy graduate Cameron Archer, who spent last season at Sheffield United, has been tracked by Bournemouth and could also be sold this summer.
Elsewhere Saïd Benrahma has completed a permanent transfer from West Ham to Lyon for an undisclosed fee.
The Algeria winger spent the second half of last season on loan at the French club, scoring three times in 12 Ligue 1 appearances. Benrahma joined West Ham from Brentford in October 2020 and registered 24 goals in 155 games for the club.
The 28-year-old was part of the Hammers side which won the 2023 Europa Conference League, scoring a penalty in the 2-1 final win over Fiorentina in Prague.
“Everyone at West Ham United would like to thank Saïd for his contribution and wish him the best for the future,” read a club statement.
Nottingham Forest have signed Elliot Anderson from Newcastle on a five-year contract. The midfielder has reportedly cost £35m, with Forest goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos moving the other way as part of the deal.
“We are all delighted to welcome Elliot to Nottingham Forest and pleased that he has chosen to continue to develop his talent with us in the Premier League,” said Forest’s chief football officer, Ross Wilson.
“We are sure he will thrive in a Forest shirt, as other players in his age profile have done. As soon as the opportunity arose for him to potentially join, it was something we were all excited to make happen.”
Source: theguardian.com
