Aston Villa were hours away from a 10-point deduction that would have derailed their season before they sold Douglas Luiz to Juventus in the nick of time.
Even as they were celebrating qualifying for the Champions League in May, Villa officials knew they faced a race against the clock to meet Premier League spending regulations by the June 30 deadline.
They had agreed to let Luiz join Juventus in May, but there was precious little time to spare when the deal was concluded. Rather than pay the full asking price, Juventus wanted to include two of their youngsters in the deal, with the clubs finally settling on Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea.