Marco Asensio is keen to return to Aston Villa, but the Premier League club have not yet found an agreement with Paris Saint-Germain
Marco Asensio spent the second half of last season at Aston Villa
Marco Asensio spent the second half of last season at Aston Villa(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
Aston Villa are still working to reach an agreement with Paris Saint-Germain to sign Marco Asensio.
The 29-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at Villa, scoring eight times in 21 appearances across all competitions.
Asensio is in the final year of his contract in Paris, but while the European champions would like to offload him before Monday’s deadline, they remain insistent on receiving a transfer fee.
It's not an easy operation for Villa due to UEFA’s financial regulations, which cap wage expenditure in relation to revenue.
Villa were fined £9.5 million by UEFA in July for breaching the European governing body's financial rules last season, including exceeding the permitted 80% of income on player wages.
UEFA had been in constructive discussions with Villa since December, and both parties agreed that part of the punishment would include achieving a positive transfer balance by the end of this window.
UEFA are also pushing Villa to reduce their wage-to-revenue ratio to below 70%, the new threshold introduced this year.
Asensio would command high wages, further complicating the potential move. However, he remains a player Unai Emery is eager to bring in before the window closes, and PSG are open to offloading the Spaniard.
In terms of outgoings, Emi Buendia and Samuel Iling-Junior could both leave before the window closes.
Buendia is attracting interest from VfB Stuttgart, while Iling-Junior is being targeted by Championship clubs looking to sign him on loan.