Denis Vavro and Thomas Delaney would not turn many heads if they wandered around Villa Park on a typical matchday yet they provide key clues to the club’s appointment of Johan Lange as their new sporting director.
During 10 years across two stints at FC Copenhagen, Lange recognised that the world of football was changing. Conventional wisdom once had it that clubs could not sell their best players and expect to win trophies.
Yet as the wealthiest grew richer, Lange recognised that the only way for Copenhagen to stay strong in Denmark and hold their own in European competition was by selling the best players.