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Allegations of “gambling laundering”
This is the perfect starting point to explain the motives behind the above-mentioned transfers of Kleyman, Matson, Dobbin or Iroegbunam. It is difficult to prove a direct agreement between the clubs to avoid the PSR. But it is clear that these deals have always been mutually beneficial.
Each of the three clubs reportedly involved is at risk of breaching the PSR for a period up to the 2023/24 season. And the settlement window for those three years expires on July 1, which explains why the clubs are so keen to get any deals done before then.
The fact that none of the exchanges were official “swap” also suggests that PSR considerations were at play. If Everton and Villa had agreed to a straight swap for Iroegbunam and Dobbin, their balance sheets would not have shown any benefit. By buying the young players separately, each club has added a significant amount of revenue to their balance sheets while covering their respective transfer expenses.
According to the information received from SPOX Everton had been interested in Iroegbunam for a number of years, while Villa were not the only club wanting to sign Dobbin. When it became clear that both clubs were keen to do a deal, the fact that they had similar interest in each other’s players made the double deal easier to complete.
It’s always hard to judge how much a player who hasn’t proven himself is worth, as you’re essentially paying for potential rather than a proven track record. Still, it’s a little difficult to logically argue how Chelsea could spend more than 22 million euros for Kleyman with only six professional games under his belt.
