Aston Villa paid just £2m plus Gary Gardner for recent signing Jota who joined from local rivals Birmingham City.

Having worked with the Spaniard at Brentford, Villa boss Dean Smith was keen on bringing Jota across the city after his side won promotion last month.

And, with Blues wanting to bring Gardner back to the club after a successful loan spell last season, reaching a deal to suit both sides always seemed on the cards.

Initially it was believed that Villa would spend around £4m as well as sending the midfielder to St. Andrew's to conclude a deal. However, both clubs announced the transfers separately, claiming undisclosed fees had been agreed.

Yet, reporter Duncan Castles stated that Jota moved to Villa for fee of just £2m plus their academy graduate, which would appear to represent bad business for Blues.

That's because they signed the 27-year-old for a club-record £6m from the Bees back in 2017 and with Gardner unlikely to be valued near £4m it means they will have taken a fairly significant hit on the player.

The Verdict

You would have to say that if this is true then Villa have done extremely well as they've moved on a player who is nowhere near their first-team and signed Jota for a small fee.

Given Blues' well-publicised financial difficulties they were probably desperate to shift the winger who would have been commanding a big wage.

But, even though Gardner is a good, solid Championship player, the Birmingham supporters won't be happy that they appear to have let their rivals get such a good deal from them.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.