Aston Villa reportedly wanted to sign Aaron Mooy from Manchester City – but he will become Huddersfield Town’s record signing instead.
Aston Villa Manager Steve Bruce
Aston Villa must be cursing Financial Fair Play right now. According to The Telegraph, the club may be forced to spend before they buy this summer with the Football League clamping down on irresponsible spending.
Rules stipulate that clubs are permitted to lose £83 million over three seasons. Villa have lost £81.3 million and are perilously close to a punishment.
Therefore, there’s no chance they will be able to replicate the £70 million splurge of last season. So far, Villa are yet to kick-start their summer spending – and unless they manage to earn some funds by selling a number of the club’s ill-fitting players, notably Ross McCormack, Aaron Tshibola and Tommy Elphick, their best laid plans could be ripped up.
Aston Villa paid big for Ross McCormack
So far, none of the trio have left the club.
And with Villa absent from the transfer market, their rivals are taking full advantage. According to the BBC, Huddersfield Town have agreed a deal with Manchester City to make Aaron Mooy’s loan deal permanent for £10 million.
Aaron Mooy inspired Huddersfield Town to promotion
The World Game reported that Villa were also interested in the diminutive Australian midfielder. Last season, they paid seven figure sums for three different players, McCormack, Scott Hogan and Jonathan Kodjia.
This time around, however, such deals appear to be beyond them for the time being.
Furthermore, the fact that Villa were able to secure most of their top targets last summer was down to their proactive, aggressive approach to the transfer market. Thanks to FFP, it appears that they are being forced to sit back and watch as their top targets move elsewhere.
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