Keith Wyness drops Aston Villa transfer claim after Unai Emery gets his 'man'
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is "perfectly happy" with the arrangement for president of football operations Roberto Olabe to handle all transfer business this summer.
That is according to former Villa chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that the pair will be "hand in glove" when it comes to strengthening the squad.
This comes after Emery outlined that Olabe will be handling all transfer business this summer, in what will be his first summer window since joining the club.
Wyness made it clear that he believes the pair will "execute" the window well internally, but are still working against a backdrop of financial issues.
The Villans' return to the Champions League is set to provide a welcome financial boost, but they are still confined by the Premier League's SCR rules.
Emery and Olabe will be desperate to ensure that the quality in the squad is improved ahead of 2026-27, but that cannot come at any cost.
Unai Emery works 'very closely' with Roberto Olabe
Villa's former chief Wyness - who served as CEO at Villa Park between 2016 and 2018 and now runs a consultancy business advising elite clubs - believes that there will be no "friction" behind the scenes at his former club this summer.
He made it clear that Emery was heavily involved in the club's decision to bring in Olabe as Monchi's successor back in November, and expects the window to run very smoothly as a result.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, Wyness suggested that Villa's SCR standing is still their "biggest issue."
"I think he (Emery) is going to be perfectly happy with Olabe. I think he had a big part in his selection," he said.
"You could almost say he's Emery's man, so I don't think there'll be any friction there at all. They work very closely together. It is now about tweaking and making the squad better, but I think Olabe will get that message very clearly.
"Emery will still be calling the shots to a great degree. I don't think there'll be any backroom fighting or any issues at all. As usual with Villa, it'll come down to the financial brackets they've got to fit within SCR.
"That's their biggest issue. I think they'll execute it very well internally, but Olabe and Emery will be hand in glove."
How is Aston Villa's current SCR standing?
Former Manchester City financial advisor Stefan Borson recently told Football Insider that Villa will "hide behind SCR" as an excuse for another increase in their season ticket prices.
Season ticket prices at Villa Park have been increased by five per cent ahead of the return to the Champions League, with the club needing to boost their revenue as much as possible.
The Premier League's new SCR ruling allows clubs to spent 85 per cent of their revenue on their squad, but Villa are clearly still toeing the line.
Borson was in no doubt that the pricing is an intention to try to alleviate those issues as much as possible to allow for the further investment in the squad.