(Credit: Imago)

James Murray

Tue 28 April 2026 12:15, UK

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Aston Villa could save Chelsea’s season from going “spectacularly wrong” by helping them secure Champions League football over the coming weeks. 

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider the Blues are facing a “very significant” issue if they fail to qualify for the elite European club competition.

Chelsea parted ways with Liam Rosenior last week, having slipped to eighth in the Premier League table following a run of five straight league defeats.

Villa, who currently sit fifth, could automatically qualify for the Champions League if they win the Europa League, having reached the semi-finals of the competition.

If Unai Emery’s side claim the European trophy and finish fifth in the Premier League, that would mean sixth place would qualify for the Champions League, handing Chelsea another opportunity to secure their spot for next season.

Why Chelsea’s owners will continue to invest

Chelsea’s financial situation has been questioned after posting a pre-tax loss of £262million last season, while failing to qualify for the Champions League would leave a significant hole in their accounts moving forward.

The Blues are also in a settlement period with Uefa after breaching the governing body’s financial rules. 

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed the financial issues at Stamford Bridge. 

“It’s actually quite overblown,” said Borson. 

“People will probably think that’s ironic for me to say, but the financial viability of the group is probably not in question. Now, they’ve invested so much that the likelihood is that they continue to try and find a way to recover what they’ve invested to date, and that means in all likelihood, continued support for the club. 

“On the footballing side, it’s slightly different. Clearly, they’ve got some issues on the footballing side. The season has real potential now to go quite spectacularly wrong with the Champions League situation.

“Villa might save them or somebody else in terms of sixth place because of course if Villa finish fifth and win the Europa League, then sixth is a Champions League place.” 

Why Chelsea are facing ‘very significant’ Champions League issue

Borson insisted Chelsea’s settlement agreement with Uefa won’t help their cause if they fail to qualify for the Champions League this season.

“If Chelsea do miss out on the Champions League next season, it is going to be a very significant issue for them on top of everything else,” said Borson. 

“It probably would be fine if let’s say they weren’t in the settlement agreement with Uefa and they didn’t have to meet quite stringent squad cost ratio rules coming into the Premier League next season, and they had a front-of-shirt sponsor for £50m a year.

“All of these things would help mitigate the situation. But in the absence of that, they’ve got some challenges on the footballing side.”