Aston Villa continue to be constricted by financial rules, which means they had to sell to buy this summer
Our dedicated Aston Villa reporter is always on the pulse of all things claret and blue, from major talking points to transfer news to match action, John Townley will bring you the very latest from Bodymoor Heath and Villa Park.
Aston Villa’s Damian Vidagany, Unai Emery and Monchi(Image: Getty Images)
If Jacob Ramsey completes his proposed £40 million transfer to Newcastle United, Aston Villa will have generated around £285 million in transfer sales since June 2024.
During that period, Villa will have then recorded a negative net transfer spend of roughly £75 million, having spent approximately £210 million on transfer fees. The headline arrivals include Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen, and Evann Guessand.
Villa also earned around £100 million from their Champions League run last season, where they reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.
This followed the 2023/24 campaign, during which Villa finished fourth and reached the Conference League final. Last season, Unai Emery’s side ended the Premier League campaign in sixth place, missing out on a return to UEFA’s elite club competition on goal difference.
Villa have consistently been one of the top-performing clubs in the Premier League, collecting a total of 183 points in 101 games since Emery’s arrival.
In fact, since Emery’s first game in charge – a 3-1 win over Manchester United – only three clubs have won more points: Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool.
That means Villa have been the fourth-best team in England over the past two and a half years and also reached the last eight of the Champions League last season. Yet, they are still held back by the revenue they earn compared to the clubs they are trying to compete with.
Indeed, Villa have been competitive, but imagine a scenario where they could both retain key players and add more quality to a squad already brimming with talent.
It is Emery and the club’s football department who have overseen a dramatic improvement in results, both on matchdays and in training.
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Speaking with Birmingham Live in Nashville earlier this month, Villa captain John McGinn criticised the financial rules governing what the club can and cannot spend to improve the squad.
“You don’t have to be clever to realise that if you want to compete with the big boys, there are rules which are pretty much unfair if you ask me,” he claimed.
“We have got owners who want to invest in the team and want to spend to kick the club on, but they are not allowed to do it. It’s tough to see. The rules are similar for a lot of the clubs.”
He added: “I think it [being at a disadvantage] unites everyone, the manager and the players. It’s the same for every supporter that they want a new toy. When you’ve not got them in the summer, you think, ‘oh, where are they’. But then you realise that we are actually alright here.
“We just signed Bouba [Kamara] on a new long-term contract, and he is one of the best midfielders in Europe. We have held onto some big players. It’s not all doom and gloom. We are positive going into the new season and make it a special one.
“Ever since the manager has come in, we have achieved something which we haven’t done before. He is as motivated as us to do the same.”
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