Aston Villa chief makes ‘impossible’ Everton transfer admission after summer talks
Aston Villa chief Damian Vidagany has admitted that the first valuation they received from Everton for Amadou Onana was “impossible” for them to meet initially summer.
After a summer of transfer speculation, the Belgian ultimately ended up making the move from Merseyside to Villa Park after a strong display at the European Championships for a reported £50million [BBC Sport, 22 July].
Although Onana’s move to the Midlands appeared to be concluded quite quickly, Villa’s director of football operations Vidagany admits talks between the two clubs were far from straightforward.
As quoted by The Athletic on Tuesday (3 September) he said: “I do not want to go into the figures. The first request we received, we said OK and didn’t talk to Everton for one month because it was impossible.
“But then the market moved and Onana wanted to come to Villa. We had an impression when Onana understood what Unai wanted from him — he was rejecting one of the top, top clubs in this country.
“The manager of that club met Onana, and Onana said he wanted to go to Villa. It was a sign of commitment.”
How much did Aston Villa pay Everton for Amadou Onana transfer?
It isn’t often that a transfer suits all parties involved in the deal, but Onana’s move to Villa Park seems to have benefited the player and both clubs who took part in the transfer.
The Toffees pocketed a big transfer fee for a player who Sean Dyche had used sparingly in the latter stages of last season, Onana got a move to a Champions League club and Villa got an international midfielder to bolster their ranks.
By standing by their valuation of the Belgian, the Blues also ensured that they were able to keep both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Jarrad Branthwaite at Goodison Park, as any existing PSR concerns had already been addressed.
It is good to hear that other club chiefs are finding the Toffees “impossible” to negotiate with in the transfer market as that would suggest that Everton have a good chance of keeping their most valuable assets in the future.
Even if they do depart, it seems likely that Dyche’s side will at least pocket a decent transfer fee.
In other Everton news, the Toffees board are set to make a Dyche exit decision after new developments at Goodison Park
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