Seven players with buyback clauses: Reguilon, Brewster, Sancho & more

Quick Reads

Planet Football
17th November 2020

Former Liverpool and Manchester United men are among the players whose old clubs retain a buyback option as part of their transfer.

Buyback clauses have been relatively uncommon in the Premier League until recent years, with Chelsea famously missing out on re-signing Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne having failed to include such a stipulation when they departed the club.

We’ve taken a look at seven players around Europe who have not completely closed the door on their former clubs.

Sergio Reguilon

Tottenham pulled off a coup when they beat competition from Manchester United for Reguilon, widely regarded as one of Europe’s best young full-backs.

Part of the reason Spurs won the race for his services was because they agreed for Real Madrid to include a buyback clause in his contract. This would enable Spurs to make roughly a £15million profit on their £28million outlay in either the summer of 2021 or 2022.

It was reported by Spanish outlet El Confidencial that Reguilon was moved on after a disagreement with Zinedine Zidane’s son, Luca.

WATCH: Pinpoint Reguilon assist has Spurs fans fearing Real buyback

Rhian Brewster

Despite never scoring a competitive goal for the club, Liverpool rated Brewster highly enough to include a buyback option when selling him to Sheffield United for £23.5million.

While the amount for the buyback has not been officially specified, it is expected to be within the £30-35million range. Liverpool will have this option for the next three seasons, alongside 15% of the fee if Brewster were sold elsewhere.

Considering the competition for places at Anfield currently, this could be a win-win for both player and club.

Douglas Luiz

The Brazil international has been an integral part of Aston Villa’s impressive start to the season, providing the midfield solidity that allows Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley to express their talents.

Luiz was signed from Manchester City for £15million in 2019, but City included a buyback clause of £25million in the deal. Now, it is being rumoured that Pep Guardiola fancies bringing Luiz back to Etihad as he attempts to rebuild their midfield.

Judging by this pass, it’s easy to see why Pep fancies him.

Beautiful football. 😍

Set up by @DG_DouglasLuiz and @RBarkley8, finished by Ollie Watkins! 👌 pic.twitter.com/GySrDa7gqH

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) November 9, 2020

Jadon Sancho

One of the most exciting young players in world football, Sancho’s incredible consistency for Borussia Dortmund has been enough to prompt rumours of a £100million return to the Premier League.

While it’s Manchester United who are the protagonists in football’s most tedious transfer saga, it is actually neighbours City who will have first refusal on the player if they are willing to match the fee offered by another club.

We can picture the ‘Welcome to Manchester’ posters now.

Memphis Depay

“Because potentially he’s a very good player,” Jose Mourinho said in September 2018 when asked why Manchester United inserted a buyback clause in Depay’s £16million sale to Lyon in 2017.

“I think when Mr Van Gaal decided to buy him he did well, he knew him very well from the national team, he was very young when at the World Cup he had flashes of top quality.

“He was playing well in Holland, we know the Dutch league is not the same but he was showing very good things. So I think Mr Van Gaal and Manchester United did very well to buy him.

“He didn’t succeed in his 18 months but he’s very young so I think it’s important for the club to complete control of this talent and we all wish he plays very, very well at Lyon and why not to come back because everyone here likes him.”

After spearheading Lyon’s unlikely march to the Champions League semi-finals, and scoring 58 goals in 145 appearances for the club, United could do a lot worse than re-signing the enigmatic Holland international.

READ: Memphis Depay isn’t ‘finding his level’, he’s just playing with freedom

Yerry Mina

Barcelona are known for not only including buyback clauses but also often activating them, having re-signed Luis Garcia, Gerard Deulofeu and Denis Suarez over the years.

Mina made just six appearances for Barca after joining in an €11.8million move from Palmeiras in January 2018, but his performances for Colombia in that year’s World Cup saw him attract plenty of interest.

Everton won the race to sign the defender in a £27million move that summer, but Barcelona retain a £54million buyback clause on the 26-year-old.

Angelino

Having made 12 appearances for Manchester City, Angelino was loaned to RB Leipzig in January 2020. After a good impression in Germany, this loan was extended to continue throughout the 2020-21 season.

As part of the loan agreement, Leipzig will automatically sign Angelino on a permanent deal should he make 12 appearances this season, including five in the second half of the campaign.

The 23-year-old has already made 11 appearances in all competitions for Leipzig this term, catching the eye with five goals and an assist, which explains why City have insisted on a buyback clause worth €40million, according to the Manchester Evening News.