Premier League clubs have voted to reject Aston Villa’s proposal to increase the allowed PSR losses, with just two votes in favour.
The top-flight clubs convened for the Premier League AGM on Thursday, where various proposals were put forward for a vote, including Villa’s, which was to increase the allowed PSR losses from £105m to £135m over a three-year period.
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Unfortunately, it didn’t come close to being passed, as The Telegraph’s John Percy reports that only two clubs voted in favour of the change, 15 voted against while three abstained.
While it would seemingly have made sense for clubs to push the proposal through to give themselves more financial flexibility and more of a safety cushion, there is the obvious counter-argument that those at the top are keen to keep the current system in place and protect their own positions of strength, while those at the other end of the spectrum don’t want the gap to widen further.
Villa are stuck in the middle in our attempts to compete with the traditional top clubs, and as per Sky Sports News, we are one of six Premier League clubs who are now under pressure to sell before the end of the month to ensure we comply with PSR and remain within the parameters to avoid being sanctioned.
Speculation has linked various players with an exit in recent months, and while the proposal put forward by Villa would have eased that pressure to have to sell, we’ll now have to be astute in our dealings in the coming weeks to ensure we balance our books and fund our own spending to try and strengthen Unai Emery’s squad by August.
The Premier League did announce changes to the financial system that will be trialled through the 2024/25 season, and they are detailed below:
- Existing PSR will remain in place.
- Squad Cost Rules (SCR) introduced to regulate on-pitch spend to 85 percent of a club’s football revenue and net profit/loss on player sales.
- Top to Bottom Anchoring Rules (TBA) introduced as a League-level anchor linked to football costs, based on a multiple of the forecast lowest central distribution for that season.
The league ultimately insist that the purpose of these new rules will be to try and ‘improve and preserve financial sustainability and the competitive balance in the Premier League, while supporting clubs’ competitiveness in UEFA competitions and providing clarity and certainty for clubs, fans and stakeholders’.
It remains to be seen how Villa respond to this latest development in terms of our transfer business, as although the general consensus has been that we will see a high profile departure this summer, it’s hoped that we can end the summer transfer window with a stronger overall squad to ensure we can compete for a top-four finish again next season, while enjoying a competitive first year in the Champions League.
Based on the reporting across the board, it does sound as though we face some difficult decisions, but there is unwavering faith in Emery, Monchi and those around them that we’ll make the best calls for the club moving forward.
