Aston Villa are in talks over selling an “incredible” player as their deadline to raise money approaches, with NSWE having till Monday to balance the books in an effort to avoid potential PSR sanctions.
As per a recent estimation by The Athletic, Villa can only record a loss of around £15 million and stay in line with PSR for 2024/2025.
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As things stand, Unai Emery’s side are above that mark, and face the possibility of Premier League sanctions if they don’t source cash by the start of the next football financial year – which begins on July 1.
Villa are attempting to sell their women’s team right now in an effort to generate much-needed income, but if that cannot restore their PSR balance, or if they fail to agree a deal in time, then player sales are the next-best option.
Emiliano Martínez, Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana and Lucas Digne are among the Villa first-teamers linked with high-profile exits before the June 30 deadline, but they’re quickly running out of time.
The club’s president of footballing operations, Monchi, is reportedly working hard to secure a significant sale ahead of the cut-off date (Football Insider), but football finance expert Dan Plumley has reassured supporters there will be a limit in terms of who they’re willing to part company with.
“I still think even with a question mark over Villa and where they’re at with PSR, it’s unlikely that they will be desperate to sell a Watkins or a Rogers as an example,” said Plumley to Football Insider.
“I think if they are going to move players on, it’s probably going to be one or two of the fringe players on the squad. I think Villa would fight hard against that is what I’m saying.
“And I think if a club’s going to look to do that, I could understand it to a degree, but I don’t see Villa trying to sell a Watkins or a Rogers quickly in the next few days for a cut-price fee.
“I think those are two players in particular that they’ll want to keep, and if someone’s going to buy those players, the premium’s going to be high.”
Instead, a far more viable option comes in the form of young right-back Kosta Nedeljkovic.
Aston Villa in talks to sell Kosta Nedeljkovic
The 19-year-old, after being used sparingly by Emery over the first half of last season, was shipped out on loan to RB Leipzig for the second part of 2024/2025, and the Bundesliga side are keen to sign him permanently.
That is according to Sky Germany reporter Philipp Hinze, who also reports that Villa are in talks with Leipzig over selling Nedeljkovic. The club possess an option to buy the Serbian for around £13 million, including add-ons, but Leipzig want to lower this cost by negotiating a new price.
Given the teenager appears out of Emery’s long-term plans, despite being called “incredible”, he’s a very viable candidate to help with Villa’s PSR situation – but Monchi won’t be willing to authorise too much of a cut-price exit.
