Dean Saunders has insisted that Premier League spending rules are hitting Aston Villa harder than any other club, despite the club's continued success under Unai Emery. The former striker believes Villa are being forced into a position where they must sell their best players to stay within the regulations, and he says that is unfair.
Villa's on-pitch achievements
Under Emery, Villa won the Europa League last season and secured a top-four finish in the Premier League for the second time in three seasons. Those achievements have raised expectations around the club, but the summer transfer window has shown how difficult it is to build on that progress.
Villa have already sold Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans, and Lucas Digne is also expected to leave before the window closes. In the case of Tielemans and Digne, the exits were triggered by release clauses, leaving the club with little room to negotiate.
The £117 million question
The biggest departure so far is Morgan Rogers, who left for a fee of £117 million. That figure might suggest Villa have plenty of money to reinvest, but it has not led to a major spending spree. Instead, the club have been measured in the market, aware that further sales are needed to fund new signings.
So far, Villa have replaced Tielemans with João Gomes, and £52 million-rated Johan Manzambi has arrived to fill the role Rogers left behind. Alejandro Garnacho has also joined on loan, with a conditional obligation to buy worth around £40 million.
Waiting for more departures
The club are now waiting to offload Leon Bailey and Evann Guessand before they can continue strengthening. That means the transfer business is far from done, and several more players could leave Villa Park before the deadline.
Meanwhile, many of Villa's rivals are operating from a much stronger financial base. Thanks to significantly higher revenues, those clubs are able to spend freely without worrying about breaching the rules.
Frustration at the financial gap
This has created understandable frustration among those connected with Villa and Newcastle United. Both clubs are ambitious, but their smaller revenue bases mean they cannot compete with the biggest spenders in the transfer market.
In Villa's case, the frustration is even greater because they have consistently outperformed clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea on the pitch in recent seasons. Despite that, the financial gap remains a major obstacle to pushing on to the next level.
Saunders: 'Villa seem forced into becoming a selling club'
Dean Saunders, speaking to LiveFootballTickets, summed up the mood when he said Villa are being placed at a disadvantage. He described the current situation as slightly unfair and questioned how the club can be expected to keep hold of its best players.
"Villa seem forced into becoming a selling club given the rules around spending in football at the moment, and it seems slightly unfair," Saunders said. "It seems impossible for them to keep hold of their best players and build on what was a very good squad last season."
He also warned about the impact on the players who remain. "When you have to sell your best players year after year, it makes the other players around the club think 'why am I staying here? If I want to win trophies consistently, then I'll have to move on'."
Off the pitch, Villa remain a growing force
Despite the difficulties, Saunders was keen to highlight the positive work being done off the pitch. He noted that the number of people attending Villa events has grown significantly in recent seasons, which he believes reflects well on the club.
"It's just such a shame for what is a fantastic club with great people around it. I go to a lot of Villa events, and over the past few seasons the numbers attending these events seemed to have just grown and grown, which is a credit to the club."
Yet that off-field growth does not solve the fundamental problem. Saunders concluded: "Despite what they've achieved on the pitch, the spending rules don't seem completely fair at the moment, and it's hitting Villa hardest of all."
