Harwood-Bellis likely to join Aston Villa for '75% of the wages' of player he's replacing

Unai Emery and Aston Villa have "big" problems on the pitch after a mass exodus and replacing them with cheaper players on "75 per cent" of their wages.

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that Villa fixing their "regulatory issues" has come at an expense.

Morgan Rogers, Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa have all been sold, with Ollie Watkins now pushing for a move to the Saudi Pro League before the window closes.

Despite Borson determining that Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) rules should be no issue at Villa Park this summer, Emery's squad is seriously lacking depth and experience.

That was proven in their first game of the 2026-27 Premier League season, being thrashed 4-0 by Brighton on Sunday, 23 August, while Joao Gomes was sent off.

There are now serious concerns emerging at Villa Park, not from a financial standpoint, but rather due to the state of the current squad ahead of the transfer window closing.

It comes as Villa work on signing Taylor Harwood-Bellis from Southampton for a considerably lower cost than the man he could replace, Ezri Konsa.

Aston Villa's 'big issue' after major summer exits

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson raised the alarm bells at Villa Park due to the club's transfer tactics over the past few weeks.

"Now what they are doing is they seem to be going for relatively low value replacements in terms of the transfer fees," he explained.

"So you bring in a player like [Taylor] Harwood-Bellis, you pay, let's say £25m, it looks good on paper, obviously, because you've got a £50m profit on Konsa.

"You've replaced it with a £5m-a-year amortisation cost, and probably somebody on 75 per cent of the wage of Konsa. So of course, on a financial basis, it looks great.

"But ultimately, what does it look like on the pitch? There's obviously very good benefits on fixing the regulatory issues that they've had, but the big issue is how can they perform on the field?"

Is Ollie Watkins also leaving Aston Villa?

Watkins was nowhere to be seen as the Villans were slaughtered at the Amex Stadium, instantly suggesting that he's the one pushing to leave.

When asked about the situation in his post-match press conference, Emery said: "This question is for him. I can answer only with my silence."

And when asked if the centre-forward has refused to play or if it was the manager's choice, he said: "I think you call his agent and he can respond."

With 21 goals in all competitions last season, Watkins was a huge miss against the Seagulls, but not even he would have made enough difference.

While Johan Manzambi should add some more creativity to the squad, he has arrived at Villa Park injured, with no certainty over when he'll recover.