It looks set to be a busy end to the transfer window for Aston Villa as they have forged an agreement for Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho and are aiming to sign Liverpool star Harvey Elliott next, according to reports.
Sancho is a member of United’s so-called ‘bomb squad’ as he is not in Ruben Amorim’s plans. The English forward spent last season on loan at Chelsea in a bid to reignite his career.
Sancho helped Chelsea win the Europa Conference League but ultimately did not do enough to convince Enzo Maresca’s side to sign him permanently.
Chelsea paid a £5million penalty fee to get out of their obligation to buy, which was understood to be worth £20-25m.
United have since been searching desperately to find Sancho a new club, in order to lower their wage bill and potentially recoup funds.
But the 25-year-old has proven difficult to offload, rejecting the likes of Roma and Besiktas and holding out for at least £250,000 in weekly wages.
Aston Villa have now come to United’s rescue. As per Fabrizio Romano, there is now a ‘deal in place’ for Sancho to join Villa on a season-long loan, with the transfer getting his ‘here we go’ confirmation.
Sancho ‘will join Villa’ after United gave the transfer their ‘green light’. Romano calls it an ‘initial loan’, which suggests there could be scope for him to join Villa permanently at some stage in the future.
Fellow journalist Graeme Bailey reports that Villa will cover nearly all of Sancho’s wages, which will help United significantly.
Villa have once again come to United’s aid after loaning Marcus Rashford for the second half of last season. Unai Emery’s side had the option to sign Rashford permanently for £40m.
Rashford impressed at Villa Park but the two parties decided not to press ahead with a permanent transfer, with the 27-year-old now playing for Barcelona instead.
According to The Athletic, Villa are ‘exploring’ a late move for Elliott next and have opened ‘discussions’ with Liverpool.
Villa want to ensure the structure of the potential deal helps them comply with UEFA restrictions.
Earlier this month, RB Leipzig made contact for Elliott after identifying him as a possible replacement for new Tottenham Hotspur star Xavi Simons. Leipzig were told Liverpool want at least £40m plus a buy-back option for Elliott, or more than £50m without one.
Emery wants a new attacking midfielder to join Villa before the 7pm deadline and club chiefs have moved for Elliott after missing out on other stars such as Lucas Paqueta and Marco Asensio.
Selling Elliott would help Liverpool to recoup funds after agreeing to break the British transfer record again on Alexander Isak. The Newcastle United striker is poised to move to Anfield for an incredible £130m.
READ MORE🚨 Transfer news LIVE: Deadline day latest as Liverpool agree Isak signing; Spurs in new striker talks
Latest Aston Villa, Liverpool transfer news
TEAMtalk understands Villa are confident of keeping an £80m star, despite Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal all registering their interest in him.
One player who could leave Villa is goalkeeper Emi Martinez as Man Utd are in talks over his signing.
He has already agreed personal terms, with United also discussing Royal Antwerp’s Senne Lammens.
Elsewhere, Liverpool have finally agreed a deal with Newcastle for Isak. You can find out all the details here.
A second Liverpool transfer is ‘not going ahead’, though it could be resurrected in January.
Villa quiz: Most expensive signing per year (2020-2024)