Stefan Borson drops seismic Aston Villa financial claim - 'They're in the zone'
Champions League qualification or bust could be the reality for Aston Villa this season despite losing several big-name stars recently.
That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that Villa have created a difficult situation for themselves.
While Premier League SCR does not currently appear to be a concern, the situation could certainly change based on where the Villans finish this season.
Unai Emery has lost Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne, with Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez soon to join that list.
However, they have certainly reinvested some of those transfer fees, signing Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and Zion Suzuki, as well as free agent Leon Goretzka on huge wages.
Following a 4-0 opening-day defeat to Brighton, Emery will definitely be hoping for an immediate improvement, and Villa's finances may depend on it.
Aston Villa require Champions League football
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson explained why UEFA financial rules will surely impact the Villans over the coming seasons.
"They're creating a situation for themselves again, like Spurs, where they are putting themselves in the zone," he said.
"That will be needing, certainly European football, but probably Champions League football to be able to pay for this stuff.
"They've had an incredibly difficult summer in terms of losing Rogers, Konsa, Watkins, Tielemans and Martinez in one summer.
"It's extraordinary, right? So they've got no choice but to reinvest and the profits of those transactions, because a lot of them are very low on book value, will be very significant.
"But the way the profit is accounted for is not the same as it used to be accounted for within PSR. It's spread over the three years as an average.
"And so I do think they'll be strained on SCR. But the problem is going forward. So I think they're going to have a challenging situation with the finances."
How much Unai Emery's side could win in prize money this season
For those on the pitch, the full focus will be on the here-and-now, with Villa first facing Club Brugge in the Champions League on Tuesday, 8 September.
Success, or lackthereof, in the Champions League could have dire consequences this season. Win games, and there could be a huge windfall available.
"They're going to need to do reasonably well in the Champions League. They should get into the playoff games, at least," Borson explained.
"That'll be worth probably minimum £70million, maybe a bit more, and if they can get into the latter stages because of the signings they've made, it's all well and good and they won't have SCR and football earnings issues with UEFA."