Villa eye Jackson as contingency for Watkins exit

Aston Villa are confident that UEFA's 45-day transfer guideline will not stand in the way of signing Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea, with the club lining up a potential £65million swoop as they prepare for the possible departure of Ollie Watkins.

Villa sold Morgan Rogers to Chelsea in July in an agreement worth £117million — a record for a British player — with Alejandro Garnacho moving in the opposite direction on a season-long loan featuring a conditional obligation to buy based on appearances.

The 45-day rule explained

Following the completion of the Rogers deal, attention turned to a UEFA guideline that guards against the same two clubs completing another transfer inside a 45-day timeframe. The measure seeks to prevent clubs inflating their bottom lines through what the governing body terms 'player exchange transactions'.

Where opposing deals are deemed an exchange transaction, UEFA limits the selling club to recognising their profit at the book value of the player sale, adjusted for any net cash receivable. More simply: any profit for the bigger seller — likely to be Villa — would be reduced to the net difference in fees, while the smaller seller, Chelsea in this instance, would be able to record no profit at all.

Given Villa's wish to pursue Jackson as a leading striker target in the event of an existing forward leaving, it initially felt any transfer would be complicated by the 45-day guideline. Rogers' move to Chelsea was completed with fewer than 45 days left in the window, meaning Villa could not wait out the timeframe before moving for Jackson.

Villa's route around the restriction

However, The Athletic has learned that the timing of such deals is just one factor considered rather than a determinant on its own. A purchase from Chelsea this window would not automatically lead UEFA to deem the two deals equivalent to a player exchange transaction.

Instead, clubs can put forward their case to UEFA, who will assess whether the deal is an entirely separate transaction — a stance the governing body confirmed to The Athletic. One key factor is whether a club can argue they would ordinarily pursue a player regardless of the other deal, as opposed to signing them for accounting reasons.

Unai Emery, who previously worked with Jackson at Villarreal, has remained in dialogue with the forward and shares a close relationship with him, and Jackson fits the profile of the striker Villa are pursuing to replace Watkins. The argument would be that Villa's interest in Jackson would exist if he were playing for any other side.

Striker contingency plans

Villa have stepped up contingency plans in case Watkins departs, with the striker keen on a move to Al Hilal. The club have made approaches for Crystal Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta, AC Milan's Rafael Leao and Bayer Leverkusen's Christian Kofane, but Jackson is thought to be Emery's preferred option.