Alejandro Garnacho could play key role in Aston Villa signing former POTY for '£30m'
Aston Villa may only need to splash out £30million to secure the signing of Napoli midfielder Scott McTominay next summer.
That is according to former Villa chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that the Scottish international’s contract situation will prevent the Italian giants from holding out for a lofty fee.
The 29-year-old’s current deal with the Serie A side is due to expire in the summer of 2028, and that has alerted Villa to his potential availability.
Wyness feels that his former club would afford a deal for McTominay, even with their tight SCR restrictions, but might have to find a creative way to fund it.
McTominay has been away from the Premier League since the opening games of the 2024-25 campaign, and has seen his reputation skyrocket with some eye-catching displays for Napoli.
He ended last season with 14 goals and three assists to his name in all competitions, having previously been crowned as Serie A’s Player of the Year the season before.
Alejandro Garnacho key to Scott McTominay chase
Villa’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Villa Park between 2016 and 2018 and now runs a consultancy business advising elite clubs – believes that his former club’s ability to offload Alejandro Garnacho could dictate their chances of landing McTominay next summer.
The Villans are expected to trigger their purchase clause in Garnacho’s loan, but Wyness recently suggested that they could potentially sell him immediately next summer.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, he explained why that could be a necessary move to fund a deal for McTominay.
“We've just mentioned Villa's tight financial situation. I would put the value for McTominay, at somewhere around about £25m to £30m right now, given the contract situation.
“Now, that would be tough for Villa to actually handle financially, but I think somebody that we might be thinking about is Garnacho.
“If they were to try and make space with Garnacho going, that could be the space to free up the wages for McTominay. So that's something I wouldn't discount: that sort of moving behind the scenes in terms of the Villa thinking.”
‘This is what Italian sources said about McTominay move’
Wyness previously told Football Insider earlier this week that there is a growing feeling in Italy that McTominay is closing in on a return to the UK.
The Scottish businessman was out in Italy last weekend, and revealed that he spoke to several sources, who all suggested that the midfielder’s time in Serie A may be drawing to a close.
That potentially gives hope for Villa that a deal could fall into place for them, especially when McTominay enters the final year of his contract next summer.
Napoli are expected to be keen to sell before that deal expires, and next summer could be the prime chance for them to do that.