Aston Villa had an incredibly busy summer as Unai Emery and Monchi worked together to try and assemble a side capable of competing in the Champions League.
Unai Emery welcomed seven new signings at Aston Villa this summer with the club in no mood to rest on their laurels after an incredible season that culminated in a top four finish and Europa Conference League semi-final.
Despite qualifying for the Champions League, the early weeks of the summer were dominated by concerns regarding Premier League Profit and Sustainability Regulations (PSR).
This saw Emery left with little choice but to sanction the sale of of one of the key players from last season in Douglas Luiz, with the Brazilian moving to Juventus.
Academy duo Tim Iroegbunam and Omari Kellyman were both also sold for surprisingly big fees, with the fact their departures represented pure profit in accounting terms the driving force behind the decision to sell.
After Luiz, another major player from last season was sold in Moussa Diaby, with Villa accepting an offer of £60 million from Saudi Arabia.
Aston Villa achieve aims despite ‘challenging’ summer transfer window
Those sales allowed Emery to address key areas of his squad with the likes of Ian Maatsen, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley all signings which should prove to be successes at Villa Park.
Of the seven arrivals this summer, three have left on loan with Lewis Dobbin, Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea all allowed to get regular football elsewhere for the season.
It was a rollercoaster of a window and The Athletic have now provided the inside track on a complex summer for the Villa decision-makers.
According to The Athletic: “Senior figures at Villa regarded this summer as the most challenging window of their careers.”
However, now that the dust has started to settle, the Villa hierarchy can reflect a window in which they accomplished their two primary aims, as The Athletic go on to say: “Yet, ultimately, they see it as successful, largely because the way that the squad was built placated manager Emery.
“Pertinently, among Villa’s chief intentions was to lower the group’s average age while adding greater depth.”
Aston Villa unhappy with how Premier League PSR is enforced
PSR is divisive as many perceive it as a mechanism to widen the gap between the Premier League’s traditional ‘Big Six’ and the rest.
This then makes it difficult for teams who do breach the European spots to sustain the level as they cannot compete financially with the clubs they are looking to challenge.
The Athletic’s report claims: “There is disquiet about how PSR is enforced, with Villa believing they are at risk of being restricted from challenging the established domestic ‘Big Six’ long-term, due to the financial limitations placed on them.
“From their standpoint, PSR puts the club at a disadvantage because their revenue is far inferior to not only the Premier League’s elite but also teams such as West Ham United, who have larger attendances at a stadium that holds 20,000 more fans than Villa Park.
“As a consequence, Villa’s sharp trajectory on the pitch cannot be mirrored by spending the fruits of their labour off it.”
It feels like any side trying to upset the Premier League apple cart has a near-impossible task on their hands because PSR means that once they do the goalposts seem to be moved almost immediately.
