Supporters understandably like to be informed about decisions at their club, although many PremierLeague owners and executives do not bother. But in the five-minute clip, Purslow explained the entire process.
How when Grealish signed a new deal with Villa in 2020 it was with the proviso that it included a release clause if a Champions League club made a bid and Villa were not in the competition.
“Our board set this clause at a value of £100m knowing that would be, by some way, a record price for a British footballer, and a record fee for any player bought by a Premier League club,” Purslow said. “We set the value at a level we hoped would not be met, but would reflect his truly unique value to Aston Villa.”
He went on to explain that they expected this day to arrive and had planned ahead, how it was never their intention to replace Grealish with one player. Instead, they identified Grealish’s key attributes — creativity, assists, goals — and searched for those qualities in three forwards.
“In signing Emiliano Buendia, Leon Baily and Danny Ings we believe we have achieved this key objective and in doing so reduced an over dependency on one brilliant footballer,” he said.
And Villa worked smartly. Transfer fees come at a premium when the selling clubs know you have £100m in the bank, so Villa got their ducks in a row before Grealish joined Manchester City as the Premier League’s most expensive signing. Buendia signed from Norwich for £33m. The day before the Grealish transfer, Ings — £25m from Southampton — and Bailey — £25m from Bayer Leverkusen — joined him.
A nice idea, but the Premier League is an unforgiving place. A few wrong turns in the transfer market and you can be heading straight for relegation. Just ask Leeds United, who went big and fell hard, all the way down to League One. It took 16 years for them to claw their way back to the top of the pyramid.
Bailey, injured since before Christmas, has one goal in 11 appearances. Buendia, often playing with minor injuries, has one in 19. Ings has a slightly more promising four in 15. It’s still early days, but Villa are a patch of poor form away from being sucked into a relegation fight they would expect to avoid.
Steven Gerrard has been brought in as the A-list new manager to drive the club onwards and upwards. Philippe Coutinho has joined on loan to perhaps fill the Grealish-shaped whole more comfortably.
None of this comes cheap. Villa are said to be paying £125,000 of Coutinho’s vast weekly Barcelona wages. Ings is on six-figures. Last week, they splashed £25m and another six-figure salary on Everton left-back Lucas Digne. It’s reported they want to sign Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma, who could cost up to £40m.
Aston Villa report card: How Villa’s signings have fared this season
Signings made under Dean Smith
Emi Buendia:
Fee: £33m
From: Norwich City
Rating: 5/10
Arrived to much fanfare after being named the Championship Player of the Year but has only shown fleeting glimpses of his creative talents so far. Not yet filled the Jack Grealish void.
Leon Bailey
Fee: £25m
From: Bayer Leverkusen
Rating: 6/10
The Jamaican winger has looked impressive, scoring a goal and providing two assists in a handful of Premier League appearances. His impact has been limited by injury issues, however.
Danny Ings
Fee: £25m
From: Southampton
Rating: 6/10
Enjoyed a strong start with back-to-back goals in his first couple of games, but has managed just two more in his subsequent 13 games. Gerrard seems to favour the hard-running Ollie Watkins in attack.
Ashley Young
Fee: Free
From: Inter
Rating: 6/10
Brought in to provide wisdom and versatility to a youthful squad. The 36-year-old is a more functional player compared to his first spell at Villa Park, but has proven to be a useful squad member.
Axel Tuanzebe
Fee: Loan
From: Man Utd
Rating: 4/10
Failed to make much of an impression after joining Villa on loan for the third time. Played just eight minutes of league football under Gerrard and will spend the second half of the campaign with Napoli.
Signings made under Steven Gerrard (from 1 January)
Philippe Coutinho
Fee: Loan
From: Barcelona
Rating: 7/10
Nobody is quite sure how good the Brazilian playmaker is anymore given his struggles at Barcelona. His arrival will be seen as a statement of Villa’s ambition and the X factor appeal of Gerrard, with whom he shared a dressing room at Liverpool.
Lucas Digne
Fee: £23m
From: Everton
Rating: 8/10
Fell out of favour at Everton under Rafa Benitez, but when on top of his game is one of the best attacking left-backs in the league. A big upgrade on Matt Targett, who Gerrard doesn’t seem to rate.
Even before the Grealish windfall arrived they spent heavily. In the five months from September 2020 to January 21, they spent almost £100m on Matty Cash, Ollie Watkins, Emiliano Martinez, Bertrand Traore and Morgan Sanson.
All this in years when finances were severely impacted by Covid-19. Is this approach sustainable? Is this merely what it takes – putting your millions on the table and rolling the dice – to climb any higher in English football?
The club have high hopes for their academy. “They really are the future,” Purslow said. But finding any that can make the step to regular Premier League football in a club aspiring to be back in Europe, let alone another Jack Grealish, is no certain bet.
Purslow, 58, is a highly astute businessman who understands football. It’s a rarity the two combine. He attended Cambridge University and was a Baker Scholar at Harvard Business School, meaning he was in the top five per cent of his MBA class. He has been managing director at Liverpool and head of global commercial activities at Chelsea (where he negotiated a £900m kit deal with Nike) before becoming chief executive at Villa in 2018.
Time will tell if this is all shrewd business to restore the club’s place in the upper echelons of English football, or a great gamble that backfires.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3GtSjes
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