So….one senior player in, one out.
Maybe not what Aston Villa fans were expecting.
Maybe not what the wider world of football was expecting from Villa Park either, with little more than two weeks of the window to go.
It’s hardly the stuff that dreams are made of ahead of a new season, is it?
Even Sky Sports’ presenters would have struggled to fill the airtime - with transfer tumbleweed the order of the day if they had zeroed in on Villa this summer.
Eventually, Evann Guessand was presented to the claret and blue world.
While his £26.5m arrival was welcome, news this week that academy product Jacob Ramsey was quitting - or being forced to quit - was less so.
Toss in the cash made from loan fees for Enzo Barrenechea and Louie Barry, the £3.5m banked for Kaine Kesler-Hayden from Coventry City and the coffers at Villa Park swelled during the close season.
Sadly for Villa fans, the bottom line was the key consideration in it all.
Aston Villa's Success has Come at a Price
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery
Word that the club had been fined £5m with further to follow if UEFA’s financial rules are not followed, is a shot across Villa’s bows.
A further £15m levy is hanging above them if they continue to fail the stress tests.
Worse still, a ban from European competition altogether would be on the horizon if they remain repeat offenders.
Putting aside the rights and wrongs of the regulations - it is a completely separate topic - it might be pertinent to ask how the club found itself in such a mess.
Spending on wages has ballooned in the past two financial years.
The ratio on wages to revenue stands at a whopping 91 per cent. That’s a two per cent increase on the previous year.
For all the good work that Emery has done on the pitch, it has been achieved at a price.
And this is despite the sales of Moussa Diaby, Jhon Duran and Douglas Luiz during that time. That’s a cool £175m raised.
Is it pertinent to ask where it has gone and upon whom has it been lavished?
It’s certainly worthwhile posing the question when it impacts the running of the club to the point where Villa are looking nervously over their shoulders to discover whether they will be sanctioned for a mis-spend.
And for all the praise that has rained down on the heads of the president of football operations, Monchi, and his sidekick, Damian Vidagany, the director of said department, it has happened on their watch.
Questions, perhaps, for another day.
In fairness, there was no hiding away from the situation. It needed to meet, head on.
The club did not, for obvious reasons, want to give the game away in terms of the amount of trouble it was in - it weakens the bargaining position for anyone unfamiliar with those issues - but it does explain why there has been inertia in the market.
If other clubs know Villa need to raise, for example, £50m then they’re not going to be offering top money with the clock ticking down towards the closure of the transfer window at 7pm on September 1.
But let’s look on the bright side for a moment, shall we?
Going into the final day of last year’s competition, Villa were still in with a shout of reaching the Champions League.
They were looking over their shoulders at the possibility of keeper Emi Martinez moving on - he had said a tearful goodbye at Villa Park the week before, raising the prospect of a move away from the club.
That’s not materialised - wishful thinking from the Argentinian less than 12 months after he agreed a new five-year contract.
What price loyalty, eh?
But the net result is that one of the best keepers in the Premier League is staying put. That’s a positive, regardless of the fact that he is absent for the first three matches of the season.
The same situation - so far - applies to Ollie Watkins.
Another jewel in the crown at Villa Park. Another potential target for others.
Tyrone Mings has signed a new deal. That makes sense. Securing Lucas Digne until the age of 35 maybe less so given the fact that 12 months ago £35m was spent on Ian Maatsen.
Rumours regarding John McGinn’s next move have turned out to be without too much merit. That smacks very much of agents trying to force Villa to the negotiating table.
Donyell Malen Could be Aston Villa's Secret Weapon This Season
Donyell Malen
Ramsey is now sporting black and white - but not too much was seen last year of Donyell Malen. That was a pity - as what’s been seen so far has been impressive.
He was the fall guy as the Champions League shirts were handed out to the likes of loanees Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford.
It’s likely he will come to the fore, particularly if Leon Bailey moves on to Roma.
The departure of the Jamaica international who by and large suffered a tail off in form last season, should free up some funds for Villa to make good his exit.
Elsewhere, they seem pretty well stacked.
The problem is that others are adding to their own stock.
This season, everyone else is gearing up. Manchester United won’t be as poor. Spurs have Champions League riches to fall back upon.
Chelsea will have an added lease of life. And the three at the top - Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City have all made big waves in the market.
Emery will put on a brave face, talk about Villa trying to compete and he still has a core of very good players.
It should be enough for the club to enjoy a successful season - and expect him to pay particular attention to the Europa League after what happened to Spurs.
That would end Villa’s lengthy trophy drought and breathe fresh life back into the club.
Champions League money would give them fresh financial impetus and catapult them forwards.
It may not be the exciting summer every Villa fan hoped for - but there’s still plenty of promise left in what Emery is trying to do.
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