Aston Villa and Manchester United could throw the transfer window wide open with a mind-blowing swap deal.
The summer transfer window is now well underway - albeit with a short, five-day break in between - and Aston Villa are motoring ahead with their business.
Unai Emery’s side may not have officially signed or sold any players just yet but that doesn’t mean heaps of deals haven’t been worked on behind the scenes. Villa have no choice but to act quickly this summer as they must sanction one significant sale or several less lucrative exits to comply with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR), with the deadline to balance their books coming up on June 30.
As Villa and other Premier League clubs try to navigate PSR again this summer, a theme from this time last year could carry over. Bold transfer swap deals became quite the trend ahead of the 2024/25 season as several clubs up and down the division tried to find the best ways to deal with PSR issues. There’s no definitive loophole, as such, but teams discovered that buying and selling players to one another in a non-official swap deal was a clever workaround.
Take Villa’s sale of Tim Iroegbunam to Everton, for example. The Villans let their academy product leave for Goodison Park for £9 million, while Toffees winger Lewis Dobbin moved in the other direction for £10 million. Then, elsewhere in the division, there was Nottingham Forest’s £35 million purchase of Newcastle United’s Elliot Anderson that saw fringe goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos leave for £20 million.
Out of all four of those deals, Anderson is arguably the only one who has represented any clear value afterwards. It was obvious that many of the transfers - not just the examples mentioned - only went ahead for PSR reasons. As much as they were a little questionable, they were at least within the boundaries.
Which similar deals could go ahead this summer, then? Well, Birmingham World has been examining squads across the Premier League and believes there’s one move, albeit a little left-field, that could work well for all parties involved. Get ready, it’s a bit wild.
Aston Villa and Man United could strike agreement on bold £60m swap deal
Aston Villa and Manchester United could throw the transfer window wide open with a swap deal involving Emiliano Martinez and Alejandro Garnacho.Aston Villa and Manchester United could throw the transfer window wide open with a swap deal involving Emiliano Martinez and Alejandro Garnacho.
Aston Villa and Manchester United could throw the transfer window wide open with a swap deal involving Emiliano Martinez and Alejandro Garnacho. | Getty Images
Manchester United and Villa’s higher-ups have been in regular contact over the past few months and the discourse could continue with a mega swap deal involving Emiliano Martinez and Alejandro Garnacho. Yes, we know it sounds a little unrealistic, but it may well be within the realms of possibility.
United, carrying out a major squad overhaul in a bid to move back into European contention, are reportedly keen on signing Martinez if they are able to sell current goalkeeper Andre Onana. Villa, meanwhile, are keen on Garnacho as an alternative to Marcus Rashford, who will not be joining permanently following his six-month loan spell.
Regardless of what happens with Man Utd, Villa are likely to sell Martinez for big money and replace him with a younger, cheaper model. LOSC Lille’s Lucas Chevalier is high up on the list of targets and OGC Nice’s Marcin Bulka is another under consideration, so there are options there.
United value Garnacho at around £60 million and the Argentine’s future at Old Trafford is very uncertain following a falling-out with manager Ruben Amorim. It awaits to be seen exactly how much Villa value Martinez at, but there could be a way of both clubs benefiting.
Martinez, a two-time Yashin Trophy winner, could solve Man Utd’s problem of not having a consistent and capable goalkeeper. Although it would be painful for Villa fans to see one of their favourite players arguably take a step down to join a direct rival, selling Martinez to United for around £40 million could be in the club’s best interests.
Then, to address the issue of wanting a new, versatile left winger, Villa could buy Garnacho in return in a separate transaction. Paying £60 million for Garnacho and selling Martinez for £40 million would create a loss of £20 million, but that could easily be covered by Leon Bailey’s pending sale to a Saudi Pro League club. Then, to address the PSR problems, other fringe players including Emiliano Buendia and Enzo Barrenechea could depart.
Alejandro Garnacho could be transformed under Unai Emery
The jury is still out on Garnacho as the winger is clearly talented but it’s well documented that he has quite a fiery attitude. Amorim is not one to put up with any signs of disloyalty - as shown by the Rashford saga - and so Garnacho is no longer in the Portuguese head coach’s plans.
Villa fans could understandably be concerned by Garnacho’s attitude but Emery thrives with players who have strayed a little off centre. Jhon Duran was very hot-headed and needed taming, but Emery got the very best out of the Colombian and helped Villa bag a huge profit. Garnacho, albeit not one to be signed to be sold later than down the line, could benefit from Emery’s stellar man-management skills.
The 20-year-old still has so much room to improve and grow as a player as he’s still a very raw talent. Even during a woeful Man Utd season, Garnacho still managed to score six times in the Premier League and he added a further five goals and eight assists across the Europa League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Community Shield.
Garnacho is already a full, eight-time international for Argentina - still the number one nation in the FIFA World Rankings - and famously won the 2024 Puskas Award for his remarkable overhead kick against Everton at Goodison Park. Fast, skilful and technically excellent, Garnacho just needs to be pointed in the right direction to reach his potential.
It could be tricky for Garnacho to start immediately at Villa as academy product Jacob Ramsey was in fine form in the second half of the season, but competition for places could drive the winger, who can also play as a number 10 if required, to get back to his best. With one Argentine exchanged for another, Martinez for Garnacho could be a swap deal that breaks the internet.
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