Finance guru reveals how much Aston Villa can spend this summer after source’s £150m reveal
Aston Villa will be able to spend north of £125million before player sales this summer and still comply with financial fair play.
So says finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Villa’s recruitment ambitions for the upcoming window.
A Villa source told this site last Friday (1 April) that they are set for a “huge” spending spree this summer and are ready to smash their transfer record.
It is understood that Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris will likely bankroll over £150m worth of new signings, more than the £116m they spent this term.
The current Premier League profit and sustainability model permits clubs to lose no more than £105m over a rolling three-year period.
Vill have posted losses of £68.9m, £99.5m and £37.4m in 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21 respectively, taking them well above the threshold.
But technical factors and the huge cash generated by the sale of Jack Grealish to Man City given them plenty of wiggle room, explains Plumley.
“It’s a bit of a minefield,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“The problem is looking at historical data compared to forward planning.
“The Grealish money is not in the latest accounts. There is a note in the accounts to say that will be modelled in moving forwards.
“You have to consider that when it comes to room to manoeuvre under FFP. Also, Villa have got Covid losses to factor in.
“Because of Covid allowances, they’re averaging out the 2019-20 and 2020-21 figures, combining them, and then adding the previous two years’ figure.
“So the three-year cycle is now effectively a four-year cycle. The cumulative losses over that period are £173m, which is not good against the regulations.
“But if we’re looking ahead, you have to take drop the 2018 figures because another year has come into the three-year assessment period.
“So then we get down to a £137m cumulative loss. Villa are claiming a £56m direct Covid impact, so that gets us down to an £81m cumulative loss.
“Then, you add the Grealish money. So then we’re looking at a situation where they have positive £20m, so that plus another £105m to play with under FFP.“
Villa are currently 11th in the Premier League after three successive defeats.
Steven Gerrard’s side are next in action against Tottenham on Saturday (9 April).
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