Aston Villa's troubles 'created' by the Premier League - 'I can't get my head around it'
Aston Villa's difficult summer has been entirely fuelled by the restrictions of the profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
That is the opinion of former senior Villa scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
The exits of Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne have been hugely damaging for the Villans, especially after such a successful year.
Unai Emery's side won the Europa League last season but have been gutted, with Johan Manzambi and Joao Gomes faced with the task of replacing two of Villa's most influential players.
Over £150million was brought in for Tielemans and Rogers, yet Villa still look light, especially given Amadou Onana's ACL injury.
With Ezri Konsa's exit this summer also beginning to look more likely, Emery has been left in the lurch.
Aston Villa situation is 'ridiculous'
The issues both Villa and Newcastle United have faced for several years now are related to rules brought in to prevent exactly what they would do without them.
Clubs must not spend massively outside of their means, with their revenue from commercial deals, tickets, competition winnings and several other avenues relating directly to their position within PSR.
Manchester City and Chelsea are the classic examples of what happened before the rules were brought in, with rich owners willing to bankroll their way to the top - that simply cannot be done anymore.
Yet the rules do not always appear to be completely fair. Tottenham, for example, are on course to spend over £300m this summer despite finishing 17th in consecutive seasons.
"I cannot get my head around the fact that Aston Villa, after a very good season, have done what they've done," King told Football Insider.
"But is it because of this fair play situation, which has been created by the Premier League or the football league, which, as far as I'm concerned, is ridiculous.
"It seems open to punish some clubs but not others, who have done just as well, it seems, if not more mistakes. I mean, losing money and bringing in players overpriced and all this. I can't see it. Either you're going to have rules or you aren't."
What has Unai Emery said?
This is not a new issue for Villa. Last summer, too, they struggled tremendously, completing their few signings late in the window.
"We cannot avoid that the summer has been challenging because the financial rules were conditioning our investment and our squad," Emery said at the time.
"This is a situation that we knew, we accept responsibility and we will overcome trying to work harder and be accurate in our decisions.
"Financial control rules came to football to avoid bankruptcies and payment defaults, with good purpose.
"But as professionals we should review it, for this good tool to become a limitation for the clubs that are doing good management, who will never be allowed to dream and get higher goals because the revenue, key for these financial rules, needs time to come to reality after sporting success."