It’s been an unsettling summer for Aston Villa supporters far and wide as they feared their successful Premier League side was in danger of being completely dismantled.
To comply with PSR rules, a whole load of sales might have had to be signed off on, as Emiliano Martinez continues to be linked with a switch to Premier League rivals Manchester United or Chelsea to give Villa a healthy £45m injection of cash.
However, a new breaking development seems to indicate that Villa will be able to get around these stringent PSR rules after all by selling their women’s team, with such a loophole allowing for any PSR anxiety to be forgotten about.
With this dire situation now presumably fixed at the final hour, Unai Emery’s men could push on in the transfer market to land a couple of statement deals, as a few faces here and there begin to be steadily linked with a switch to Villa Park.
Aston Villa's transfer situation
Understandably, most of the conversation involving Villa this off-season has involved the likes of Ollie Watkins being lined up for major moves away, with all the worry surrounding PSR getting to the Villans.
Now, however, the mood will be more relaxed, with Villa ready to explore several new targets. Already, they have been unsuccessful in landing Jesus Rodriguez from Real Betis though, as a deal heartbreakingly collapsed.
Still, that won’t have completely knocked them, with Lucas Chevalier one name reportedly on their shopping list if Martinez does still exit the West Midlands outfit.
On top of that, a fresh name in the form of Gabriel Sara has now begun to be linked with a move to England, with a report from Turkish outlet Hurriyet, via Sport Witness, indicating that a £17m bid has been put forward to Galatasaray by Villa for their creative Brazilian.
This has since been knocked back with Galatasaray wanting at least £34m for their midfield star, who is also a wanted man by Manchester City, Manchester United, and Leeds United.
Villa will hope they come out on top to land his coveted signature, with the ex-Norwich City ace already a hit in England when on the books of the Canaries, meaning he might well be Villa’s next Youri Tielemans if he were to join the building soon.
How Sara could be Villa's next Tielemans
After all, Tielemans used to be on the books of Leicester City before advancing his game even more when donning Villa claret and blue.
By the end of the entertaining 2024/25 campaign for Villa, Tielemans was arguably the club’s player of the season having tallied up 15 goals and assists in all competitions, with five of those goal contributions coming about on the grandest stage of them all in the Champions League.
The 77-time Belgium international would also amass a hefty 54 goal contributions during his entire Foxes stay, with Villa now feeling smug with themselves that they won Tieleman’s services on a free transfer basis in the summer of 2023.
Whilst Sara would cost a lavish £34m to obtain, he might well come in and become as instrumental to Villa’s midfield as Tielemans now is, having picked up ten assists and two goals last season for his current Turkish employers, away from already being well-versed in the high demands of the English game when situated in Norfolk.
Games played
96
Goals scored
21
Assists
17
Norwich POTS
1x
Championship POTM
1x
Championship TOTY
1x
Whilst the Brazilian would never guide Norwich up to the Premier League during his celebrated stay, he certainly still left an impression on the Carrow Road masses with classy display after classy display, as seen in his bumper total of 54 combined goals and assists from 96 contests, which is eerily the exact same amount Tielemans tallied up at the King Power Stadium.
He has since tasted success in a top division in Turkey too, with U23 scout Antonio Mango even going out of his way to herald the midfield ace as “incredible.”
With nine Europa League games under his belt last season too, he could be a worthwhile buy for Villa for this alone as they enter into the competition next campaign, with a hope in the air also that he’s their next favourite from the middle of the park like Tielemans.
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