Kieran Maguire issues ’emergency’ claim amid ‘£248m’ Aston Villa reveal
Aston Villa must treat their academy as the “fourth emergence service” as player trading may be the only way to bridge the gap between themselves and the Premier League elite.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the success of Villa’s youth production line.
Only the so-called ‘Big Six’ have produced more players currently in the England youth setup than Villa.
Carney Chukwuemeka, Tim Iroegbunam and Aaron Ramsey were part of the Under-19 team that triumphed in the European Championship recently.
The Athletic reported on Thursday (7 July) that owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris are personally briefed with a rundown of their rising stars’ progress every international break.
Maguire revealed that Villa’s net spend across 2019-20 and 2020-21, the last two recorded financial years, totalled £248million.
The spreadsheet expert explained that the academy can help the club begin to address the deficit through player sales.
“Villa had a net spend of £248m in their first two years in the Premier League,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“Some of that will have been reversed after the sale of Grealish, but it isn’t a long-term sustainable model.
“They also have to effectively use the player trading model as the fourth emergency service because their matchday income is only around £13m.
“That puts them at a significant disadvantage compared to the ‘Big Six’ that they aspire to break into.”
Jacob Ramsey, Jaden Philogene-Bidace and Keinan Davis are also among Villa’s top academy products in recent years.
Ramsey won Villa’s Youg Player of the Season award in 2021-22.
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