Aston Villa's £100m transfer decision hands Unai Emery summer PSR bonus
Aston Villa's winter transfer business concluded at 1am this morning when Axel Disasi was confirmed as their fifth signing of the window.
The 26-year-old joined Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio as the third loan arrival in as many days, which followed the permanent signings of Donyell Malen from Borussia Dortmund and Andres Garcia from Levante for a combined £26m. Villa also hold the option to buy Rashford permanently for £40m, while Paris Saint-Germain are thought to be open to extending Asensio's loan into next season.
Villa raised around £100m in sales with Jhon Duran the most notable departure at £65m plus add-ons to Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr. Jaden Philogene was first out the door to Ipswich Town for £20m, before Diego Carlos generated £8.5m after leaving for Fenerbahce.
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Villa also made money from loan fees, including a £1m payment from Hull City for taking Louie Barry until the end of the season. Emi Buendia also joined Bayer Leverkusen and could stay there permanently for £17m in the summer, while RB Leipzig also hold an option to buy Kosta Nedeljkovic after the completion of his loan.
It was the busiest January window for some time, led by Villa's president of football operations Monchi. Although his plan was tested following the big-money sale of Duran, all along he, Damian Vidagany and Unai Emery were aligned in the strategy that every player joining must be at a level to compete for a place in the squad and improve its overall level.
It would be fair to say that they achieved that through the addition of Malen for Philogene and by swapping Asensio for Buendia. Disasi could also be an upgrade on Carlos even though the Brazilian played a part in last season's success. The big question mark is whether or not selling Duran will come back to bite, but the 21-year-old wanted to leave the club and they viewed £65m plus add-ons as a good deal.
Replaced by Rashford, Villa haven't brought in another number nine to compete with Ollie Watkins, but instead a player who has proven for many years what a talent he can be when in form. Emery has helped plenty of forwards rediscover their best level down the years and Malen and Rashford hope to be the next.
Villa are paying the bulk of Rashford's £325,000-a-week wages, but are not obliged to pay a transfer fee for him at the end of the season. Perform at his best level and then paying a price tag of £40m could be excellent business. There isn't a buy option involved in the Disasi loan move, though he was insisting on linking up with Emery over the past fortnight and refused moves elsewhere in favour of heading to Villa Park.
When Villa sold Carlos to Turkey, they stepped up their pursuit of Loic Bade, but the Sevilla defender eventually declined the opportunity to move because he was unsure about his game time if he had joined. What Villa did next encapsulated their plan in the window - it wasn't to spend that £25m elsewhere on a player who they didn't feel would progress the side beyond this campaign.
Even after selling Duran, Villa proved that they are happy to wait and not take a risk, knowing they could bring in three loanees who each have top quality. Granted, it's up to Emery to bring the best out of Rashford and find a slot for Asensio to flourish, but Villa aren't tied to them. That's important from a financial perspective.
Villa still have the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Leander Dendoncker on their books after previous regimes applied more of a short-term view to recruitment. And that's what can hold a club back given the strain caused by the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
After making somewhere in the region of £100m worth of sales in this year's winter window, Villa will have more flexibility in the summer to make the additions Emery believes will best suit his side. Of course, that doesn't mean his players aren't for sale at the right price, because that's the nature of the beast.
"We need to consider in future that to sell a player is revenue," Monchi said back in August. "The most important thing in my opinion is not selling players - the most important thing is to buy good [players]."
