Aston Villa reportedly missed out on a deal for Lille striker Jonathan David during the summer transfer window.
The Premier League outfit had to be conscious of their position with the division's Profit and Sustainability Rules throughout the off-season.
As a result, there was a flurry of activity prior to and including June 30, the final date for the relevant accounts to be submitted, and in the two months that followed.
However, despite the frequent speculation, Unai Emery's options down the centre of his attack remained the same with Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran still at his disposal.
Of the pair, Duran was heavily linked with a switch elsewhere, only to remain at Villa and subsequently score winning goals from the substitutes' bench against West Ham United and Leicester City respectively.
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Villa miss out on David
Nevertheless, it appears that Villa made efforts to further strengthen their ranks, including trying to acquire a Turkey international from Besiktas.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Emery and club officials were also admirers of David and were keen at one stage to get a deal over the line.
Writing in his Daily Briefing, Romano said: "While it is too early to predict what might happen next summer, when Jonathan David's contract expires at Lille, we can explain what happened with him this summer, which could provide some hints.
"David was one of the players that was most enquired about this summer, from many teams.
"It looked like Aston Villa would go after him with everything they had, but the deal never came off because they could not find an agreement with either the player or the club."
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David staying put a major surprise
In his four years at Lille, there has barely been a transfer window go by where David has not been linked with a move to a bigger club.
A total of 87 goals and 20 assists have been contributed from his 190 appearances, the 24-year-old also scoring 29 times in 55 outings for Canada.
That said, even when they were in a vulnerable position in the summer, Lille refused to sell their star man for anything below their valuation.
David was said to possess an asking price of £30m, and his side will now hope that their decision to retain his services is justified when they participate in the new 36-team group stage format of the Champions League.
Darren Plant
