Keith Wyness names ‘key’ Aston Villa target – ‘a lot of fans will hate this’
Aston Villa have burst onto the scene in the Champions League this term but their rise has not come without significant financial challenges.
Unai Emery’s side are in a close-run fight to re-qualify for Europe through the Premier League – and could take a financial hit if they are unsuccessful.
Speaking to Sportico on 4 March, Villa’s president of business operations Chris Heck said he expects the club’s revenue to reach between £360-370million for this season.
That would be a big increase on the figure for the 2022-23 campaign – which stood at £218million.
But Aston Villa’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Villa Park between 2016 and 2018 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – insisted the £370million figure will have to be “doubled” if his old side are to remain competitive.
International fans ‘key’ for Aston Villa growth, says Wyness
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted a “key” area of growth will be in developing the club’s international fanbase.
The former CEO claimed international fans will be important as HS2 – a new high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham – becomes operational.
Wyness suggested fans may have their nose put out of joint in future as he claimed supporters have “hated” recent revenue-raising measures put in place by Heck.
| Position | Team | Played | Points | GD |
| 6 | Newcastle | 28 | 47 | 9 |
| 7 | Brighton | 28 | 46 | 6 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 29 | 45 | -4 |
| 9 | Bournemouth | 28 | 44 | 13 |
| 10 | Fulham | 28 | 42 | 3 |
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “They’ve got to do a lot more with the international fanbase.
“I think that’s one area that will be key for them to develop.
“Being in Britain’s second city, Birmingham, with HS2 coming – they’ve got to market themselves better.
“At £370million, Chris Heck will have had some sleepless nights around that – and a lot of fans have hated how they’ve reached those numbers.
“But still, they’ve got to double that figure.
“That’s what you’ve got to be at now to stay competitive. The owners are bullish and will support that, but they’ve got to be clever.
“The club will be celebrating these results, but they’ve got to go further.”
Abraham keen on Aston Villa return
Football Insider revealed on Thursday (13 March) that Tammy Abraham has told friends he is “very keen” to rejoin Aston Villa this summer.
Abraham made a huge impact during a previous loan spell with Villa in the 2018-19 season and had an excellent rapport with the Villa Park faithful.
The striker, who is currently on loan at AC Milan from parent club Roma, is attracting interest from Premier League clubs including Villa and Everton.
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