Aston Villa have been in the headlines recently after publishing their accounts for 2023.
Some pretty stark figures emerged, with the club posting a loss of just under £120million, the highest in Europe according to UEFA.
The latest figures mean Aston Villa are now the third highest loss-makers in Premier League history behind Manchester City and Chelsea.
As much as the appointment of Unai Emery has been positive, the Spaniard’s high standards and squad demands have impacted the club’s wage bill.
Per Companies House, the Villans’ wage bill has risen from £137million to £194million, an increase of £57million.
Furthermore, there was £63million spent on the acquisition of new players, compared to a small profit of £0.3million the year before. Throughout 2023, £124million was spent on new players and wages combined.
Despite the fairly startling figures, Villa remain confident that they’re working within the Premier League’s spending rules.
Nevertheless, considering the loss and current financial state of the Premier League, the topic of player sales has emerged.
Kieran Maguire moots Aston Villa June player sale
Talking on the Price is Football Podcast, football finance expert Kieran Maguire has highlighted how Villa have pushed back their accounting date from May to the end of June, which is entirely within the rules.
“The media will cut and paste the press release. For me, the devil is always in the detail. So have their been any impairments, where’s the loan interest, where’s the funding,” he said.
“All of these issues are pretty boring, but for anyone looking at these issues from an analytical point of view, they’d like to see these normals for a bit more clarity.
“Also, in respect of Villa, they’ve lost £119million. What else have Villa done? Villa have pushed back their accounting date from the 31st of May to the 30th of June. Why have they done that?”
Maguire has suggested that an extra month could allow the Villans to sell a player in June to comply with FFP regulation.
“A cynic might say that Villa might feel are very much on the edge of the FFP limit,” he added.
“By pushing back the accounts date, it now gives them the month of June to sell a player to make sure that they make a profit from that sale to allow them to be within the FFP limit.”
What could happen now?
Of course, Maguire’s theory is just that: a theory. The club could have done this for another reason, which is most likely the case.
However, if the accounting date has been pushed back with player sales in mind, two assets would be heavily linked with an exit.
Boubacar Kamara and Douglas Luiz are the club’s most significant salable assets. Both are within the right age bracket and are performing at a high level.
However, Kamara’s ACL injury almost certainly rules out an exit, especially in June.
That leaves Luiz as the player who could solve Aston Villa’s FFP issues. He’s among the best midfielders in the Premier League, still young and could easily play for one of Europe’s elite.
One way Villa could hold onto Luiz is securing Champions League football, with the windfall and extra revenue easing FFP concerns.
After Maguire’s latest revelation, an interesting couple of months could be in store.
