Aston Villa journalist Dan Bardell has posted a cryptic message which will fuel speculation following the club’s latest transfer news.
Unai Emery is working hard both on the training pitch and behind the scenes as he prepares his Aston Villa squad for a Champions League campaign.
Villa have already completed a number of deals this summer, with Tim Iroegbunam, Omari Kellyman and Douglas Luiz all sold prior to the 30th June PSR deadline to comply with Premier League spending rules.
That deadline has now passed and the club have bolstered their options with the signings of Lewis Dobbin, Ian Maatsen, Samuel Iling-Junior, Enzo Barrenechea and Ross Barkley.
- READ MORE: Aston Villa have now enquired for another Juventus talent after Iling-Junior and Barrenechea
Now, the club are linked with a move for a player they sold just last summer in a move that has led Dan Bardell to speculate.
Dan Bardell issues cryptic response to Jaden Philogene transfer news
Villa sold academy graduate Jaden Philogene to Hull City for £5 million last summer.
Highly-rated at the Midlands club, it was a little surprising to see Emery sanction the deal and he has proven that it could have been the wrong decision with 18 goal contributions in the Championship last season.
Villa included numerous clauses in the deal that saw Philogene join Hull and it now looks as though they are set to trigger one of these following an £18 million bid from Ipswich Town to sign the 22-year-old.
It has been reported that Villa have activated their ‘matching rights clause’ which offers them the opportunity to match any bid made for their former player.
- READ MORE: Aston Villa could re-sign ‘ridiculous’ player Emery sold last summer as transfer clause ‘activated’
This news has led to Bardell issuing a cryptic response on ‘X’, with the Villa journalist posting: ‘More to this than meets the eye…’.
Was Philogene’s Aston Villa sale PSR related?
Villa’s PSR concerns have been no secret, with the conversation regarding departures dominating the early weeks of this summer.
It is for this reason that the club sold two youth products last month, with Iroegbunam joining Everton for £9 million and Kellyman moving to Chelsea for £19 million.
As academy players, Iroegbunam and Kellyman represent pure profit in accounting terms which is incredibly useful in balancing the accounts ahead of a PSR deadline.
Now, Bardell’s cryptic post could insinuate that PSR worries were the reason for Philogene’s sale last summer.
When you consider the number of clauses included in allowing Philogene to join Hull, including an option to buy the player back for £15 million if the Tigers were promoted, it is clear Villa were reluctant to let the winger leave.
- READ MORE: How Unai Emery really feels about Jaden Philogene transfer after Aston Villa activate clause
The fact they have now made the decision to match Ipswich’s £18 million bid for the youngster after negotiating the PSR deadline could imply that this was the club’s plan all along.
This would explain Bardell’s post, with some strange goings on at Premier League clubs to bypass spending rules.
