Aston Villa and Chelsea plan could face Court of Arbitration hearing over transfers – Keith Wyness
Aston Villa and Chelsea will face no scrutiny with their £65million deal for Nicolas Jackson despite suggestions that the fee has been artificially inflated.
That is according to former Villa chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that suggestions of collusion between the two clubs to help avoid SCR sanctions simply cannot be proven.
Jackson is on the verge of making the switch to Villa Park for an initial £47.5m outlay, with a further £17.5m to come from a series of add-on payments, and only the official confirmation of the transfer now awaited.
Wyness believes that there is clearly a “friendly situation” between the two clubs after all of their business this summer, but does not believe there is any chance of them being punished.
Villa sold Morgan Rogers to the Blues for £117m earlier this summer, with Alejandro Garnacho and now Jackson heading in the other direction, plus many more links that haven’t materialised.
Supporters across the Premier League have raised eyebrows at the business from the duo, but Wyness believes it will go down as nothing more than conspiracy theories.
Atletico Madrid interest has Chelsea and Aston Villa in the clear
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 Atletico Madrid’s latest interest in Jackson highlights why the fee for Jackson cannot be deemed as inflated.
The Spanish giants were heavily linked with the striker last week, and were seemingly willing to pay Chelsea’s £65m asking price to secure his signature.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness explained why the current “buyer’s market” protects clubs like Villa and Chelsea.
“When I first looked at this, I thought that perhaps this was an inflated deal. And I was thinking, well, maybe there is a conspiracy theory here we should be looking at and should there be a change in rules,” he said.
“It's clever, but my opinion was at that time that it was very close to the edge of doing things right, but still it was going to be OK.
“Legally, it could potentially be challenged. It could go to CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) in particular, if they could have proof. Now, of course, getting proof that this was inflated on purpose is the big thing.
“Now, with Atletico trying to do a deal at £65m, the Villa deal cannot be inflated. That's why these things are so very, very hard to legislate against, because if it's a buyer's market, then £65m was not ridiculous, and if Atletico were happy with it too, then there is no inflation.
“It is extremely hard to prove if it were to be challenged in any way. And it would be difficult for anybody to challenge it now, given that extra piece of information about Atletico.
“There's obviously a friendly situation between Villa and Chelsea. Clubs will use it to their advantage when they can, but also be able to defend it quite clearly, as in this case, so I think you know we have to move on and nothing to see here.”
Tosin keen on Aston Villa switch
Football Insider revealed earlier this week that Chelsea centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo is keen on the idea of a move to Villa Park ahead of the 1 September transfer deadline.
The second city outfit are working to find a capable replacement for Ezri Konsa, and have identified the 28-year-old as a strong option for them in the final stages of the window.
Tosin would provide proven Premier League experience for Unai Emery’s men, and is expected to depart Stamford Bridge soon.
He turned out 35 times for the West Londoners in all competitions last term, but could soon find himself playing in claret and blue.