Stefan Borson drops Aston Villa spending power update ahead of January transfer window
Aston Villa are in a strong position to secure a return to the Champions League following their recent run of form.
Villa beat Chelsea 2-1 on Saturday (27 December), ensuring they have now equaled their club record for the longest winning streak after securing 11 straight victories.
Unai Emery’s side currently sit third in the Premier League table, while they have opened up a 10-point gap on fifth-place Chelsea.
Villa could boost their financial situation by up to £50million if they qualify for the Champions League this season.
The West Midlands giants now have a decision to make around their transfer activity, with the January window set to open this week.
Why Aston Villa’s agreement with Uefa will impact their transfer plans
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Villa are likely to be restricted in January due to their settlement agreement with Uefa.
Villa were fined £9.5m by Uefa in July for breaching the governing body’s financial rules, with the potential of a further £12.9m penalty if they fail to comply in a three-year period.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson said: “I don’t think Aston Villa can do very much in January, actually. I think they may do a bit tinkering, but they’re under a settlement agreement with Uefa, and part of that is to reduce their general costs, so they’re on a quite strict set of restrictions.
“I think the only thing that might sway them a little bit is obviously that they’re definitely performing better than their own expectations.
“I don’t think there’s any possibility that they thought that they would be on the back of having Europa League in the first half of the season, that they would be where they are in a title race. But I think it’s going to be very difficult for them to sustain that over the season.”
How Aston Villa could agree January deals
Villa are the favourites to win the Europa League, with Emery’s side only sitting behind table-topping Lyon on goal difference.
“What they might say is, ‘Look, we have got this agreement with Uefa, but we know that we’re probably going to get let’s say £10m from merit payments this season, from finishing higher in the league’,” said Borson.
“Let’s say they budgeted for sixth, and they’re probably going to finish third or fourth. They’ve got a 10-point gap over Chelsea, so it’s a pretty sizable gap at this stage of the season. Maybe they think that they’re going to generate let’s say another £10m.
“They have been on TV more than anybody I think it is, so they’ll probably make a little bit more from that as well. It gives them a little bit of leeway above their budgeted position.
“But I would think that their budget on Europa League is to get very deep in that competition, maybe semi-finals, so they’re not probably going to be able to find an outperformance versus the budget there. I just find it hard to believe they’ve got a lot of leeway.”
Villa are just three points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal heading into their game against Mikel Arteta’s side on Tuesday (30 December).
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