Stefan Borson explains SCR 'bottom line' after Aston Villa mass exodus

Aston Villa's mass exodus is down to player decisions at Villa Park rather than a concerning Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) situation.

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that Villans should not be concerned by any incoming sanctions.

Supporters have grown concerned that Villa have sold members of their Europa League-winning squad due to financial restrictions ahead of the new campaign.

Unai Emery has already lost Morgan Rogers, Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa, with Ollie Watkins now eyeing a move to the Saudi Pro League this summer.

Although the Villans have reinvested of those funds, signing the likes of Johan Manzambi, Zion Suzuki and Matteo Ruggeri, there is plenty of fan unrest.

Aston Villa kick off their Premier League campaign against Brighton on Sunday, 23 August, yet nothing is certain when it comes to transfers.

Aston Villa 'should be fine' with SCR

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson poured water over any concerns of SCR breaches, instead suggesting that players simply wanted to leave.

"I suspect it's a combination of a few different things coming together. I don't think you can ignore the fact that the players themselves have wanted a change," he said.

"That definitely applied to Konsa. As far as I can tell, it applies to Watkins. And so against that backdrop, Villa are are obviously inclined to do whatever is best for them financially as well.

"That has the added benefit of sorting them out in terms of their settlement agreement with UEFA in particular, and for them to get in the right direction on Squad Cost Ratios, both for UEFA and also for the Premier League.

"In the Premier League, they've got to hit 85 per cent, and they can't really miss 70 per cent in the UEFA context, because it would be their third breach.

"Because they're going to have to comply, you would think they therefore are going to be fine for Premier League SCR.

"The bottom line is if they if they're okay, which I expect them to be just about on UEFA, then they're going to be fine on the Premier League."

Could Aston Villa sign anyone else before the window closes?

Villa have already signed Aaron Wan-Bissaka on loan from West Ham United, and that might not be their only deals in the final days of the window.

Talks have been opened with free agent Leon Goretzka, while Football Insider understands that the Villans are closing in on Nicolas Jackson.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis is also a target for the Villans, though goalkeeper Emi Martinez could finally be on his way out of Villa Park.

Clearly, there is plenty of business to be done before the window slams shut, and that would suggest that SCR isn't a concern right now.