Aston Villa willing to sell Diego Carlos despite £50m Champions League windfall
Diego Carlos is one of the players Aston Villa are expected to listen to offers for as the club attempts to prepare for the Champions League while continuing to comply with profit and sustainability rules.
But academy product Jacob Ramsey has no desire to leave Villa Park this summer and will only leave if the club cannot make alternative sales.
Like most other clubs in the Premier League, Villa will need to offset new signings with sales during the summer transfer window despite landing a windfall of around £50 million for qualifying for the Champions League.
Villa are not believed to be facing a huge bonus bill for qualifying for the Champions League, with most players thought to be on bonuses for playing in any European competition which were already triggered last season following qualification for the Europa Conference League.
That has proved to be a shrewd move from Villa, as clubs can face huge hikes in their wage bill when they qualify for the Champions League.
Central defender Carlos has already attracted some attention and the fact he has two years remaining on a contract thought to be worth around £100,000-a-week means Villa could sell him.
The 31-year-old joined Villa for a reported £26 million two years ago, which would make his book value to the club £13 million and Italian sources have claimed AC Milan have already shown an interest in him.
While selling Carlos would not, in itself, give Villa a huge PSR boost, it would free up value space on the wage bill and give them a bit more breathing space.
Ramsey attracting interest from big clubs
Selling Ramsey would provide Villa with a huge PSR boost as any fee banked for him would count as 100 per cent profit. But the 22-year-old has no desire to leave his boyhood club and is excited at the prospect of returning from injury to play in next season’s Champions League.
Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Liverpool are all admirers of Ramsey, but Villa’s valuation of the player is likely to be too high for all three clubs this summer. Ramsey is only expected to leave the club if Villa find themselves in a position where they have to bring in cash and have failed to sell other players.
Villa are looking to sign a midfielder, and are among the clubs to have expressed an interest in Conor Gallagher, a forward and a full-back, who could also provide cover in the centre of defence. Atletico Madrid defender Mario Hermoso has been linked.
Clement Lenglet and Nicolo Zaniolo, who spent the season on loan at Villa, are expected to return to the parent clubs, Barcelona and Galatasaray.
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