No doubt I’ll be writing something tomorrow ready for the Newcastle game, but I think it’s worth saying something about this subject purely because I think it represents a sea change for Aston Villa;
Quite simply, the news is that a fee of £14 million has reportedly been agreed for the sale of Aaron Ramsey to Burnley.
The £14 million is a big wedge of dough for a lad who’s only played once for the Villa, but it just shows how well he’s rated by the club and other admirers. I think it was Klippety who apparently also had his eye on him.
Okay, it’s only Talksport who are saying it, but it sounds about right because this story has already been doing the rounds for the last few days.
What makes this deal totally different though is that we have agreed a buyback option, which I assume means we get the first shout at a set price if he comes good and we want to buy him back.
And there’s every chance of that, given that those who have watched him closely believe he could easily go on to be better than his brother, Jacob.
Now, buybacks aren’t at all new, with them having happened for years; but they aren’t something we do and it’s certainly not something we’ve done routinely.
Here’s what Emery is quoted as saying;
“Young players are very important for us. And we have to make a plan for them. In the past, present and the future and we don’t want to stop their career.
“When we are thinking they are not going to have a lot of chances to play, to keep confident and keep minutes, another plan is to let them go and play in other teams.
“Sometimes on loan, sometimes sell. But always trying to keep the possibility of getting them again for us in the near future.
“That is the idea we have with different players. Now, Aaron is so close to leaving and the idea is to have the possibility to recover him if he progresses over the next year or for more, deserving to play and come here.”
So it’s obvious this is now an ongoing way of thinking.
Which I think is great news, as I’m sure you’ve heard me dozens of times saying that our academy has been a total waste of time and effort, with practically no reward.
This has now changed and of course, also demonstrates how we’ve moved up a few gears and actually have kids who can go on to play for top clubs, as opposed to moving on to the lower tier clubs.
I’m hoping this deal is one of the first, similar to the production lines we saw at Southampton and West Ham etc.
The club brings in millions from the sale of kids, where we can pull them back should we want.
Just like a top club!
UTV!
This is the best news for ages, to my mind.
It’s another sign that we’re finally trying to compete.
Badger, as I previously posted, if you take into account the management of FFP then it makes a lot of sense.
Barca have employed the buy back approach for young talent for years and, more recently, Citeh with Luiz.
The challenge is to allow a sufficient period of time to allow Ramsey to mature whilst still having the right to buy him ahead of the ‘queue’. As we’ve seen with Luiz, if Citeh still had that option would they have triggered it.
Another factor is the quality, or lack of it, from the coaching team responsible for Ramsey’s development. One would think he’s in good hands with Kompany – is that something that enters Emery’s thinking?
It’s reported that Emery has absolute authority when it comes to first team matters. It’ll be fascinating to see how matters develop over the coming season(s).
UTMV
According to Brum Live, Villa are in discussions with Galatasaray over a loan move for Zaniolo with an option to buy.
That sounds a more sensible approach – if true.
According to Wikipedia, Zaniolo is a Villa player. A big concern is he has suffered two ACL injuries between 2020/21. I have heard it’s the kind of injury that destroys careers, let alone twice. Hopefully he will be okay now.
There is no deal on Zaniolo.
According to Romano – reasonably trustworthy source who does prosper research – Villa want a loan deal with an option to buy which, given they’re looking for a season long replacement for Buendia makes sense.
But for Galatasaray that just means a small loan fee and getting his wages off the books which, logically given they only recently signed him from Roma, is nowhere near enough to persuade them to agree.
Villa will have to offer a reasonable fee if they want him.
Wouldn’t be surprised if we turn our attention elsewhere.
A well-written article about the state of the PL:
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league-2023-24-preview-man-city-arsenal-b2390253.html
Liverpool have coughed up a nine figure sum for Caicedo. To put that into a Villa perspective, McGinn, Luiz, Kamara, Tielemans, and Ramsey cost a total of 17.5 million (give or take), if my sums are correct. Well done the Villa! Please maintain this brilliant business model. Which team’s midfield would we choose over those 5?
And to just add to that, some quick maths as to what these players are worth given their age and importance to us is in excess of £200m. Ramsey being the biggest one where I don’t think we would take any less than £80m (That may even be generous seeing how he is progressing year on year) given what other English players are going for in todays market.
Adam, I’d say closer to 300 for the 5.
They’re now saying £14 million for Aaron Ramsey which will help balance the books a little. Outsourcing Ramsey’s development to Kompany is a great idea as, if we do buy him back, it means that we should get an experienced PL player who is used to playing is a system that probably won’t be a million miles from ours.
Zaniolo, being able to play in a number of positions, also looks like a good deal, so long as he passes the medical that is. He’s big and strong and I’m wondering if he might not turn out to be another Milner.
COYL
Hibs 3-1 up after 1st leg. What a fabulous occasion it would be to play them in the qualifier. Mouthwatering.
And a shoe-in victory to boot! (ahem).