Aston Villa’s owners have been sent a clear transfer warning live on Sky Sports amid their continued spending in transfer windows.
It was just last year when Villa took the transfer market by storm as they managed to tempt Philippe Coutinho into swapping the glitz and glamour of Barcelona for the West Midlands.
That was just a sign of things to come, as in the remainder of 2022, NSWE brought in eight more players including Lucas Digne, Diego Carlos and Leander Dendoncker – and they don’t show any sign of slowing down.
They have recently confirmed the signing of Alex Moreno from Real Betis, someone who Unai Emery will know very well from his time managing out in La Liga.
Journalist Anton Toloui didn’t mince his words on Sky Sports, as he stated that Villa’s lavish spending simply can’t continue, hinting at potential Financial Fair Play implications further down the line.
Speaking prior to Moreno’s arrival, he said: “Villa have been spending big now for the last couple of windows, and you can only do that for so long. They spent £20m-plus on Lucas Digne this time last year, he’s one of the higher earners at the club as well – you don’t want that in a backup.”
Since 2020, Villa have made big inroads into trying to bridge the gap between themselves and the bigger top-flight clubs by splashing out lavishly on players such as Coutinho, Danny Ings, Digne, Emiliano Buendia, Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins.
While some of those players have tasted mild personal success – with the likes of Watkins and Ings proving to be decent goalscorers with 45 strikes between them since moving to the Midlands outfit – Coutinho, Bailey and Buendia have failed to make a consistent impact, with little goal involvements for the money they cost and their attacking talents.
Therefore, if Villa wish to avoid a situation like the one Everton are currently in where they are spending carefully, they could well be forced into some more stringent deals that don’t necessarily make the headlines in terms of transfer fees.