Wayne Rooney cited after shock £20m Aston Villa deal agreed
Aston Villa’s former chief Keith Wyness has claimed the Chelsea deal for Omari Kellyman is “quite sensible” and “within the rules”.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Villa Park between 2016 and 2018, was CEO at Everton and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – suggested Wayne Rooney’s move from Goodison Park to Man United is comparable to Kellyman’s switch.
Kellyman, 18, joined Chelsea from Aston Villa on Saturday (29 June) for a reported fee of £19million.
That is despite the midfielder making just six senior appearances for the Midlands club, including one start in the Uefa Conference League.
Football Insider has been told by finance expert Stefan Borson (2 July) that Chelsea and Villa are among Premier League clubs involved in transfers before 30 June who could face issues if they have to hand over documents linked to the deals to the governing body.
Ian Maatsen made the move from Stamford Bridge to Villa Park in a separate transaction to Kellyman’s move – with some fans and pundits accusing the clubs of inflating fees to bypass financial rules.
Wyness defends Aston Villa over controversial Kellyman transfer
But Wyness defended Chelsea’s move for the teenager, claiming “young talent comes with a price” and citing Rooney’s move 20 years ago.
He told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “These deals have been going on forever.
“They are within the rules – the valuations seem quite sensible, £19million for Kellyman.
“What is a young, talented player worth? What was Wayne Rooney worth at 17?
“I know what he was worth because I was involved in selling him.
“He went for £24million plus £4million in add-ons, who would pay that now?
“There has been a lot of flops at Chelsea, and maybe they’d have been better off having these youngsters coming in at £10 and £20million.
“It’s very difficult to say that these deals are wrong. Young talent comes with a price, and anything under £20million is still within the realms of possibility.
“It’s very sensible business.”
In other news, Nottingham Forest make move to beat Aston Villa to striker deal.
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