Aston Villa had to be clever with their business this summer as the club looked to avoid breaching Premier League spending rules.
This saw Unai Emery sanction the £42 million sale of Douglas Luiz to Juventus, whilst Tim Iroegbunam and Omari Kellyman were also sold ahead of the 30th June PSR deadline.
Moussa Diaby left later in the summer as he agreed a £60 million move to Saudi Arabia but it was Luiz’s exit that was most significant for Aston Villa in terms of complying with Premier League rules.
PSR stipulates that each Premier League club is permitted to post losses of up to £105 million over each three-year window, with Everton and Nottingham Forest handed points deductions last season for failing to comply.
Villa president of football operations, Monchi, and director of football operations, Damian Vidagany, had a big decision to make along with Emery in which of their assets was the best option to sell in order to stay within the rules whilst not compromising the team too much.
Why Aston Villa considered selling Ollie Watkins
Luiz was a key part of Emery’s side as Villa earned a top four finish alongside a run to the Europa Conference League last season.
However, the Spanish coach deemed the Brazilian to be more replaceable than a number of the club’s other stars and therefore it was decided Luiz would be the one sold to ease Villa’s financial concerns.
- READ MORE: Footage emerges of ex-Aston Villa man Douglas Luiz toying with opposition in Juventus colours
Monchi and Vidagany spoke to a select group of journalists about Villa’s summer transfer window on Tuesday, where they opened up on the process of deciding who to sell.
The Athletic have relayed what the Villa chiefs said, reporting that Vidagany explained: “We had to take decisions that wouldn’t condition us too much for the rest of the period because if we sold whatever it took — let’s say Ramsey — it would not be at the best price, but clubs knew our weakness.”
Monchi then added: “If we sold Ramsey, it (PSR) would be solved. And we could (have) because we had offers.”
Vidagany then explained the key factor in deciding which players to move on, saying: “We needed to manage the solution of PSR but not take out one of Unai’s most important players.”
Villa fans’ biggest fears could well have been recognised in the summer, as Monchi revealed: “Another solution was to put onto the market [Ollie] Watkins. It’s an easy solution as he’s a top striker. Or to sell the best goalkeeper in the world because we had offers for [Emi] Martinez.”
Vidagany concluded: “To sell (Ezri) Konsa, to sell (Leon) Bailey… The priority was to solve PSR, but we should not compromise the success of the next season.”
Aston Villa remain concerned regarding PSR despite Luiz sale
Luiz’s sale alongside those of Iroegbunam to Everton and Kellyman to Chelsea were enough to comply with PSR for the three-year period up until June 30th, but concerns regarding PSR have not gone away.
Monchi and co. will immediately be turning their attention to the current three-year window, with Villa keen to avoid finding themselves in the same position as they did this summer in the future.
What makes things difficult is that much of PSR relates to revenue and Villa simply cannot match day earnings of the ‘Big Six’ in the Premier League.
In fact, given Villa Park has a capacity of 20,000 less than the London Stadium, it is difficult for the club to compete with even the likes of West Ham despite Champions League qualification.
Many view PSR as simply a mechanism to keep the elite clubs out of reach for the rest, so Villa will have to be clever with their business if they are to continue to upset the ‘Big Six’.
