The late deal that Doug Villa out of a black hole

SELLING LUIZ DEFUSED A 'TIMEBOMB'

- Neil Moxley

ASTON VILLA avoided a Premier League disaster this summer in the nick of time.

With the Premier League's financial year end looming and a £25 million black hole to fill, action needed to be taken. One of the club's star turns had to go.

In the end, just hours before the June 30 cut-off, Douglas Luiz was sold to Juventus for £42million.

It was a mighty close call. And it has saved Villa a potential 10-point deduction and, arguably, their season.

Head coach Unai Emery's two recruitment gurus sporting director Monchi and director of football operations Damian Vidagany came to the rescue.

Vidagany said: "At the end of the season we found ourselves in a situation where we had to sell players for profit to avoid being in breach with PSR [Profit and Sustainability Rules].

"From May 20 to June 30 is normally a holiday period in football. It wasn't for us.