I think we’ve got the £40m we wanted for Elliott (including a loan fee) and done the right thing by the player. We don’t need the cash now, so there is no harm doing another club a favour, especially as we like the look of their prize jewel.
It’s a bit cynical to think that at ownership level there isn’t a bit of back scratching going on.
so just to circle back, this got closed out and he is going there?
Not announced yet but seemingly close to it, latest here:
Bit of a flat end to his time here really.
He’s not an automatic starter in that Villa side by any means and they’ve certainly not started the season well. Bringing in Lindelof and Sancho hardly fills you with confidence that they’re a club with a long term vision and a plan of how to take the next step up.
Interested to see where they choose to play him in their usual 4231 set up as well. Always felt he lacked the pace to be a wide forward and the physicality to be a midfield option against tougher teams.
Wish him all the best, been a great player for us and may have been even better had it not been for some untimely injuries.
Exactly why we had to let him go, despite all the goodwill towards him.
“Conditional on appearances…” 
Yeah, that stood out to me as well. It’s not impossible they panic about not being able to afford him and avoid playing him enough times to trigger it. Or Emery gets the boot and whoever replaces him doesn’t fancy Elliott.
Villa supporting mate said it’s only 10 appearances so it’d have to go pretty wrong not to be triggered.
Lol fair enough
Lots of obligation to buy with conditions are depending on a player making more than 50% of the team’s appearances. We’ll see what are those conditions here.
Wish him all the best especially this season where he can do us no harm and hopefully help us.
I wonder if there is any benefit for us to book the sale for next summer rather than this one for FFP reasons?
Harvey’s farewell message on Instagram
Correct. I’ve noticed that we tend to be very accommodating and easy to deal with for most other clubs, because it greases the wheels for future dealings.
Morgan Rogers.
We are not going to be mugs and be taken advantage of… but I think the guys up top understand that sometimes some flexibility goes a long way in terms of building team spirit, helping one of our own to progress in his career and just being a good partner in transfers, dealings, etc. For guys who need to slog and battle together through a long season, I don’t think the value of camaraderie is emphasized enough.
As we were not in a dangerous FFP position this year, were not likely to get paid the full fee up front anyways, then why not accept the loan fee and have it go through next year? Finally I assume the loan fee more than covers any cost of capital / interest difference that would have arisen.
Moreover, if we believe in Elliott… hopefully the loan means we were able to negotiate a better buyback or sell on fee.
