‘Aston Villa to sell women’s team to fund Marcus Rashford deal as Barcelona split’
Aston Villa may be able to take advantage of multiple factors to beat Barcelona to Marcus Rashford’s signature this summer.
The Man United loanee was a near-instant hit at Villa Park, notching four goals and five assists in 17 appearances after arriving in the winter window, before sustaining a season-ending injury.
Many Villa fans were eager for Rashford to sign permanently, with the same being said about Marco Asensio, but Unai Emery’s side were dealt a huge blow when it comes to the club’s financial situation.
Despite Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United slipping up on the final day of the Premier League season, the Villans were condemned to Europa League football with a loss to the Red Devils.
Champions League qualification is worth an estimated £100million alone [BBC Sport], and after missing out on the competition, PSR concerns have emerged at Villa Park.
Aston Villa to exploit PSR loophole this summer
With several key players linked with exits due to PSR concerns, finance expert Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, believes Villa can use their women’s team to alleviate the pressure.
In June 2024, Chelsea sold their women’s team to BlueCo for £198.7 million [BBC Sport], a consortium led by Todd Boehly, who also owns the West London club.
This saw the club flip a £90million loss in 2022/23 into a £128m profit for last season [BBC Sport], which has been heavily invested into the men’s first-team transfers.
Plumley believes that the Villans can do exactly the same, exploiting an identical PSR loophole, and alleviating the pressure to cash in on multiple big names this summer after clubs opted not to close that option off.
Marcus Rashford to Villa Park could be back on the cards
As well as boosting the likelihood of keeping Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers, and Youri Tielemans, it could revive the chance to seal Rashford’s signature on a permanent basis over the coming weeks.
While the 27-year-old is personally understood to prefer a move to Camp Nou, a new report states that behind the scenes, Barcelona are split on the signing of Rashford now.
This certainly opens the door for Emery’s side to do business with United this summer, but the hierarchy will need to act fast in their sale of the women’s team before putting any offer on the table.
Many other clubs will disagree with Chelsea’s recent off-pitch antics, selling to themselves to avoid PSR restrictions, but until the Premier League clubs find an appetite to close the loophole, Villa should take advantage while they can.
Thomas Bramall’s blunder likely cost Villa a spot in the Champions League, so those at Villa Park will feel they have every right to exploit the PSR shortcoming in the rulebook and use it to fund a deal for Rashford.
The player’s eye-watering wages are certainly a talking point, but if Villa can seal a major sale without affecting the current squad, it seems like a no-brainer set of decisions for the hierarchy.