Garnacho, Rogers and two clubs trying to balance the books

Garnacho, Rogers and two clubs trying to balance the booksImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Alejandro Garnacho is set to swap clubs with Morgan RogersByNizaar Kinsella, Football reporter and Nick Mashiter, Football reporterPublishedJust nowJust hours after Chelsea made Morgan Rogers the most expensive British footballer in history by spending £117m to sign him from Aston Villa, they are in talks to loan Alejandro Garnacho to the Villans.But how can Chelsea afford to sign Rogers? And why did Villa pursue a loan with a conditional obligation to buy rather than buying Garnacho outright?Here are the key questions answered...Is Garnacho part of the Rogers deal?Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Garnacho was pictured wearing Marcus Rashford's Aston Villa shirt in 2025One of the clauses in Uefa's transfer regulations defining "player exchange transactions" is that such deals must be concluded within 45 days of each other.Clubs can still transfer players between themselves in that 45-day period, but those deals would have to be perceived as not connected to not be seen as part of a swap.Indeed Tottenham and Brighton moved centre-backs Jan Paul van Hecke and Luka Vuskovic between them in separate deals earlier this summer, though both clubs are some distance away from the threshold to be under Uefa scrutiny.Chelsea and Villa, however, are among those that need to trade most effectively in order to comply with Uefa's squad cost ratio regulations and their 2025 settlement agreements.In the case of these specific transfers, Rogers' £117m move will provide Villa with a significant accounting profit - potentially £80m-£90m after Middlesbrough's sell-on clause, agents' fees and the remaining book value of his 2024 signing are deducted.But if Chelsea were to sell Garnacho to Villa as part of the same transaction, Uefa would treat it as a swap deal. Even if Garnacho left on deadline day - September 1 - fewer than 45 days would hav...