Man City earn £8.5m transfer boost from frantic weekend of Premier League deals

The annual accounting deadline for the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) led to a busy weekend of transfers across the division, as several clubs were forced to sell star names in order to balance the books.

Chelsea, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Everton, West Ham United, Ipswich Town, Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa all concluded business ahead of the 30 June cut-off date for 2023/24 figures.

Perhaps the most significant deal of all was Douglas Luiz’s departure from Aston Villa to Juventus for a fee of €50m (£42.4m). The Brazilian, who spent five years in the West Midlands, was among the league’s best performing midfielders last season and missed just three games for the fourth-place side.

While so many panic-stricken clubs looked to hastily sell off key assets last weekend, Manchester City faced no such concerns. The champions are the most efficiently run side in the top flight and posted record profits of £80.4m in their last annual financial figures.

And City received another monetary boost courtesy of the weekend’s frantic transfer dealings. The Blues earned a fee of £8.5m from Luiz’s transfer to Juventus due to a 20 percent sell-on clause included in the player’s transfer from City to Villa in 2019.

It’s a recurring theme of City’s peerless transfer policy and in January they profited from another Villa deal as Morgan Rogers’ switch from Middlesbrough resulted in an initial £2m raised.

City have already earned £20m from a former player this summer, with Southampton obliged to sign Taylor Harwood-Bellis permanently - following an initial loan in 2023/24 - after securing promotion back to the Premier League. James Trafford’s potential move to Newcastle could also see City receive an extra £3m - meaning Pep Guardiola’s transfer budget could be boosted by upwards of £30m this summer from the transfers of ex-City players.