Can someone copy and paste the Telegraph article?
It is less than 24 hours after Aston Villa have clinched promotion back to the Premier League at Wembley, and the £127 million rebuilding job is already well underway.
The tradition of an open-bus tour to celebrate is abandoned, and Dean Smith is holed up at Villa Park with chief executive Christian Purslow and sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitarch, with the wheels in motion now the end of the club’s exile from the top-flight has been confirmed.
Twelve new signings have since followed over the next two months, with 12 players leaving, in a drastic but necessary reshaping of Smith’s squad as Villa bid to first stabilise this famous old club back in the top tier.
The strategy was clear: reduce the average age, reduce the average wage and increase the quality.
Purslow, an experienced operator who counts Liverpool and Chelsea among his former clubs, told Telegraph Sport: “Our brief when we appointed Dean and Jesus in October last year was to rebuild the squad in the summer, in either scenario.
“Two plans existed in terms of the players we monitored and obviously with promotion we were able to pursue the Plan A targets when we knew what the budget was.
“We’re happy with the business we’ve done and think in a few months’ time it will look even better.”
Wesley, a Brazilian forward previously at Club Brugge, is the joint record signing at £21 million, while there have been other eye-catching arrivals such as Douglas Luiz from Manchester City, England goalkeeper Tom Heaton, Egypt star Trezeguet and the Zimbabwe international Marvelous Nakamba (a headline writer’s dream).
There are other notable signings, with one of the most popular undoubtedly Tyrone Mings, who proved such a revelation on loan over the second half of last season and shares the record transfer fee with Wesley.
There are, of course, no guarantees that it will all work but there has been a tangible buzz around the Villa training ground this week ahead of their clash with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
“Doing a Fulham?”
That accusation has been levelled at Villa over the last few weeks by rival supporters yet it seems unfair and misinformed, with the only similarity that both clubs had to work quickly after winning the Championship play-off final.
As Purslow points out, Villa’s meticulous planning began last year and their summer business has been a clear strategy agreed between Smith, Purslow and Pitarch - known as Suso - and the recruitment team, with most signings designed to be low-risk with potential.
Brazilian striker Wesley was a £21m capture from Club Brugge
Brazilian striker Wesley was a £21m capture from Club Brugge CREDIT: ACTION IMAGES
Every summer signing has either played under Smith before or was scouted by the Villa manager, or monitored extensively from December onwards. Trezeguet was recommended by Villa defender and Egypt team-mate Ahmed Elmohamady and there is genuine excitement about how the winger will perform.
Villa could easily have spent more this summer, too, but there has been a determination to avoid the “legacy deals” which have cost the club millions in recent years.
For example, on the day after the play-off final a £12 million offer was tabled for Bristol City centre-half Adam Webster and turned down, with the Championship club quoting a price of £25 million.
Webster eventually went to Brighton, who paid the fee demanded, and Villa signed Bjorn Engels, a Belgian centre-half scouted by Smith at former club Brentford, from Reims for a third of the price.
Offers for Brentford’s Said Benrahma and Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips were also rejected, with the two clubs demanding substantial fees, so Villa looked elsewhere for more realistic options.
The signing of Douglas from the Premier League champions is one which gives Villa extra satisfaction. The Brazil under-23 captain, Douglas was highly admired by Pep Guardiola but his chances of making an impact at City were thwarted by work permit issues.
Villa faced huge complexities to make the deal happen, but his arrival was officially ratified this week; while other clubs might have seen it as a mess, Villa saw it as an opportunity.
With Nakamba, Villa had first moved for the midfielder in January but Brugge refused to sell. Villa watched most of his games last season and signed him for £10 million last month. He has already earned comparisons to N’Golo Kante from his time in Belgium and has experience of the Champions League.
Even after such a busy summer, which works out at a £127 million gross spend without including transfer add-ons, there is no doubt who remains the main man.
Jack Grealish is Villa’s captain, a decade after sitting in the Witton Lane Stand as a season ticket holder, and it will be fascinating to see how he performs in the Premier League.
He has been patiently waiting for this opportunity on the grand stage and knows there will be eyes on him.
Grealish could have moved to Spurs last summer, before Villa’s new owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens performed their rescue act, but now there is a genuine chance for him to fulfil his potential at the top level.
Gareth Southgate, the England manager, will be at the Spurs match on Saturday and Grealish will undoubtedly be one player in his sights.
How Grealish, and Villa, start the season could be crucial to their hopes of avoiding “Doing a Fulham” and dropping straight back into the Championship.
But after three years out of the limelight, Villa are back.
