Aston Villa's transfer window has gone from silent to frantic inside a week. Youri Tielemans has had his £35m release clause triggered to join Manchester United, Lucas Digne has had his release clause triggered to, as he's heading to join Paris Saint-Germain, and Johan Manzambi is arriving from SC Freiburg.
We look at what frames it all, the restrictive UEFA settlement Villa have in place and the fact they desperately need to refresh an aging squad, that is one of the oldest in the Premier League.
This week's episode gets into why Villa are moving on two influential, well-liked players in the same week, and why that's a rational response to the situation rather than a sign of panic. There's a breakdown of the numbers behind the Tielemans exit — the release clause nobody outside the club knew about, the pure profit it books, the wages it clears — and why Digne's move to PSG might be the cleanest piece of business Villa do all summer.
Then we get into what the incoming Johan Manzambi is all about.
There's also time for the parts of the summer that aren't about the pitch: the Visit Rwanda shirt sponsorship and the ethics around it, and progress on the North Stand rebuild.
UTV
Aston Villa are still selling sponsorless shirts here - https://aston-villa-store.sjv.io/6kdvWb - if you don't want 'Visit Rwanda' on it.
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