Belief Aston Villa secured bargain Diego Carlos deal – Price ‘less than half’ release clause, value ‘significantly higher’

Aston Villa may have secured themselves something of a bargain with the deal for Sevilla defender Diego Carlos.

That’s according to the Seville newspapers ABC and Diario de Sevilla today, who both cover the impending move and the finances involved.

Yesterday afternoon saw, both Sevilla and Aston Villa confirm they had reached an agreement for the Brazilian centre-back.

Neither club mentioned a fee in their announcements, but this was later shared as £26m in England and then €30-40m in Spain.

ABC and Diario now dive into them a little deeper and explain that Aston Villa have managed to secure themselves something of a bargain for the 29-year-old.

ABC say Villa are paying €31m to sign Carlos, a figure that is ‘less than half’ his release clause, which was set at €75m.

Of that €31m, the La Liga side will need to pay 10% of the capital gain to Nantes, who Sevilla paid €15m to in 2019.

That mean they will be picking up even less than imagined, and the deal with Aston Villa is for a price that does not correspond to his market value, which is ‘significantly higher’.

However, the Spanish side’s need to secure a big exit before June 30^th so they can balance the books, which are more than €41m in debt, has necessitated them selling on the cheap. They had also made a commitment to the player to sell after rejecting Newcastle’s offers in January.

The idea of the sale being on the cheap side is shared by Diario, who say why the move can be ‘considered a good sale’ it is not the ‘off-market offer’ Sevilla would have hoped for.

That’s because the €31m figure isn’t even close to the €35m figure Newcastle offer in January, and the player hasn’t gotten worse since then.

They present a more positive outlook on things in general, pointing out that Sevilla are making a profit on the player, and it will give them the power to negotiate harder for Jules Koundé, who Chelsea are chasing.

There is, though, the repeated claim that Sevilla were essentially forced to sell on the cheap because of their need for money.

Either way, Aston Villa are getting a good deal and one Steven Gerrard will be happy with, particularly as ABC say he made the defender an ‘express request’ this summer.