Almost fatal Aston Villa transfer fail emerges, as big rejection nearly destroyed moves in each direction

Weston McKennie reportedly turned down more money with Aston Villa than he earns at Juventus in order to stay, which could have jeopardised the big move for Douglas Luiz.

Villa were seemingly pushed into the sale of some of their big-name players in the summer. Luiz and Moussa Diaby were both sold for big sums to appease profit and sustainability rules.

But the big exit of Luiz was apparently shrouded in doubt at one point.

According to Calciomercato, that Juventus man McKennie did not want to move to Villa ‘risked jeopardising’ the deal.

The American was part of initial discussions over the signing, and it’s said he ‘angered’ his side when he decided he did not want to head to Villa so that Luiz could go the other way.

The report states that he could’ve earned €3million (approx £2.5m) plus bonuses at Villa Park, but decided to maintain his €2.5million (approx £2.1m) Juve contract.

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Villa got move done without McKennie

While McKennie was part of the initial negotiations, his transfer was not required for Luiz to go to Juve.

Indeed, after a few routes were explored, Villa sold the Brazilian for approximately €50million (£42.3m) and signed Juventus pair Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling-Junior.

That meant that they didn’t get McKennie, a player they wanted, and they have since loaned out both of the stars they received instead.

Aston Villa planning savvy signings

Villa are planning the smart signings of two players who they have seen up close. Yusuf Yazici is on their radar – as a free agent signing – after he nearly dumped them out of last season’s Europa Conference League.

Meanwhile, they are plotting the snare of Ernest Muci in January, after he bagged three goals against them in two games last term.

Beyond that pair, Villa have been scouting Girona duo Miguel Gutierrez and Viktor Tsygankov, players who other Premier League outfits have their eyes on.

Bryan Mbeumo is also in the thoughts of Unai Emery, after he notched three goals in the first three games of the season in the English top flight for Brentford.

How has McKennie fared this season

Since turning down the chance to play for Villa, McKennie has played just 98 minutes for Juve – 23 in Serie A and 75 in the Champions League.

The latest of those saw him score the second goal in a 3-1 victory over PSV Eindhoven.

The American midfielder was in the box at the right time, as one of his team-mates lost possession whilst on the attack, with the ball somewhat fortunately rolling to McKennie via another teammate, and the midfielder struck it into the top corner from close range.

Weston McKennie stats v PSV

Whether or not his goalscoring exploits see him rewarded with more opportunities remains to be seen.