Aston Villa to explore AI shirt sponsor as 'dream' scenario on the cards
Aston Villa should have done more to prepare for the ban on gambling companies as front-of-shirt sponsors in the Premier League.
That is according to former Villa chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that his former club are missing out on an ideal market with AI and cryptocurrency businesses.
This comes after the second city outfit recently released their new home shirt for the 2026-27 campaign without a sponsor on the front, as they continue to wait for a deal to be struck ahead of next season.
Wyness has been left "disappointed" by the limited action from his former club in this department and emphasised that they are currently in a "perfect" position to attract big companies.
Unai Emery's side are set to return to the Champions League after finishing fourth in the Premier League, and also tasted Europa League glory back in May.
However, their former CEO doesn't believe they have used their position to its full advantage so far, and has stressed the need for them to get an agreement in place in the coming months.
Aston Villa told to explore 'burgeoning' new market
Villa's former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Villa Park between 2016 and 2018 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that there is no excuse for Villa not to have a sponsorship sorted before the start of the season.
He noted that their newfound position as a "trophy-winning club" should give them all the tools they need to go out and secure a truly lucrative deal.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, Wyness called for them to explore the "burgeoning" AI market.
"Villa being a European trophy-winning club have now got a perfectly good position in the sponsorship market and would be attractive to sponsors, certainly in the Midlands," he said.
"Why there hasn't been some move on AI companies, crypto companies, some of these new burgeoning markets that are coming through, I don't understand.
"I've got to ask the Villa sponsorship team as to where they are in terms of that, because they're the sponsor's dream that you really want right now, where there's big fan loyalty, big visibility, and another guaranteed European situation.
"I'm disappointed that they haven't got that sorted out. We've all known about the gambling ban, it's been coming for a long time, and it's no surprise."
How much would a shirt sponsorship deal be worth to Aston Villa?
Former Manchester City financial advisor Stefan Borson recently told Football Insider that several top clubs are struggling to agree shirt sponsorship deals after the ban on gambling companies came in.
The football finance expert outlined that there is a "big red flag" surrounding the commercial interest in Premier League teams at the moment, and that is causing issues.
Borson indicated that a front-of-shirt sponsorship could be worth as much as £40million to a Champions League club like Villa, which would be a significant sum of money to lose out on for next term.
Emery and Co. need all the financial muscle they can get as they bid to prepare to squad for top-level European football, and with that in mind, they simply cannot afford to go much longer without putting a deal in place.