Finance guru issues Aston Villa ‘guarantee’ after £356m reveal
Aston Villa have a “long way to go” before they break into Europe’s footballing elite – and a high net spend is no guarantee of success.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the latest figures from CIES Football Observatory.
The football business analysts revealed last Monday (7 February) that Villa’s net spend of £356million is the ninth-highest in Europe over the last decade.
Villa, who have spent three seasons outside the top-flight since 2012, are one of six Premier League clubs in the top 10 and one 14 in the top 20.
The figures illustrate the financial might of the English game and how tough it is to break into the division’s upper echelons, reasons Plumley.
“The list is dominated by Premier League clubs,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“Mid to lower Premier League clubs feature heavily, which shows the revenue generation on offer in the league.
“The other side is how difficult it is to close the gap to get into that top six. We talk so often about Aston Villa in that best-of-the-rest bracket.
“To get close to competing, you have to spend significantly. It comes down to a risk-and-reward model for clubs like Villa.
“There is absolutely no guarantee that you can break into that top six, even with a very high net spend.
“So the issue here is two-fold. The spending shows the dominance of the league but it also shows that there is a long way to go to close that gap.”
Villa have spent over £100m on new recruits in this season alone, but that was compensated for by the summer departure of Jack Grealish to Man City.
Philippe Coutinho also signed on loan in January with a £33.7m option to buy.
In other news, Aston Villa to let Bertrand Traore go as clearout plan revealed.