Romano unveils crucial info about €44.3m sale – striker to be “formally separate”

Fabrizio Romano was Tweeted about Ian Maatsen’s move to Aston Villa just a few hours ago, saying that “negotiations continue” between Chelsea and the Midlands club.

He was very much beaten to the punch by rival insider David Ornstein, who Tweeted shortly after the exclusive news that it was a done deal.

Romano isn’t one to lose out when it comes to exclusives, so he’s gone digging on the details of the deal to try and produce something original. What he’s ended up with is some interesting information about the structure of the deal.

He says it’s a “£37.5m total fee,” a little above the £35m release clause that Maatsen had in his Borussia Dortmund loan contract for the second half of the season, equivalent to €44.3m

But Romano adds that “one player to be included in discussions to join Chelsea from Villa will be formally in separated [sic] deal.”

The devil in the detail of the deal

We’re not sure why he’s referring to Jhon Duran, a clear Chelsea target he’s reported on many times in recent days, as “one player,” rather than by name. Has he been told not to by Villa? Surely it’s not a different target at the same club?

In any case, this does probably make sense from a financial point of view, as we speculated in our piece about the transfer. This allows Chelsea to put £37.5m on their books right away as pure profit from the sale of a home grown player. Meanwhile Villa only have to pay for him bit by bit, in accounting terms at least.

Then in turn, Chelsea have the space to operate to sign Duran from Villa, meaning both sides get the relief of space on the books right away, kicking the can of payment down the line.