(Credit: Manh Tung, Breaking Media)

Ciaran Morrison

Thu 14 May 2026 18:12, UK

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Aston Villa will not be able to make any money if they finalise a deal to buy a stake in French club FC Annecy.

That is according to former Aston Villa chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking to Football Insider, as the Villans could acquire FC Annecy as part of their multi-club portfolio.

Aston Villa’s owners are in talks with the French side over acquiring a controlling stake of the club, having already developed a relationship this season.

Defender Triston Rowe joined FC Annecy on loan last summer, and more transfers would be expected to happen in the future.

As Aston Villa look to abide by financial rules in the transfer market, the move could help develop young talent in preparation for breaking through into the first team.

Aston Villa warned about making ‘difficult’ FC Annecy move

Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes the deal for Aston Villa to buy FC Annecy could only be for “football reasons.”

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness can see “issues” occurring if the deal goes through.

He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “French football is not a great investment right now, apart from just on the football side.

“So I think this is purely for football reasons in terms of scouting young talent, developing young talent. It’s not really about trying to create a club that’s going to grow and make money.

“The problem with the French league, even in Ligue 1, the top French league, there is no media deal. And there really are issues even for the big clubs.

“We’ve seen the disaster recently with Lyon and John Textor and Eagle Football, so look, it’s a very difficult league to operate in.”

Double sale on the cards as Aston Villa chase Roma star

Aston Villa’s summer transfer activity will be influenced by whether the club can sell players to improve their standing under financial rules.

Sources have told Football Insider that Aston Villa are willing to sell players in order to sign Roma midfielder Matias Soule.

There will be strong competition though, including from Bournemouth and Borussia Dortmund, for the 23-year-old.

Donyell Malen and Evann Guessand are two fringe players both expected to be offloaded in the summer to ensure Unai Emery can strengthen his squad.