Aston Villa are reportedly considering the option of selling a number of our Academy talents in order to help balance our books and move towards adhering to financial regulations.
It promises to be another difficult summer for the club as we continue to balance the need to improve the squad and make it increasingly competitive with avoiding sanctions due to breaches of the financial rules, both domestically and with UEFA.
Naturally, a big-money sale could solve the issue in one move with Morgan Rogers being linked with an exit this summer, but ideally, Unai Emery will surely want to keep hold of our attacking star and build around him and other pillars of the side.
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Unfortunately, that might not be possible if a significant offer comes in that meets our touted asking price as it could be too good to turn down, but according to The Athletic, Villa could look to sell some our young prospects in order to provide a financial boost.
It’s added that George Hemmings and Bradley Burrowes will be evaluated in pre-season as they are seemingly considered the best prospects amongst the current crop, and they would leave on loan rather than permanently, but while it’s suggested that we’ll include key clauses in any exits for others to give us a buy-back option or matching rights, it will give us the immediate financial benefit with the option to bring them back in the future if they impress.
Given both Hemmings and Burrowes are so highly regarded and having impressed at youth level, it’s reassuring to hear that the plan might be different for them, as it’s hoped that they can continue to develop and make a breakthrough in the senior squad.
The former featured last season after shining in pre-season last summer, but naturally he’ll need regular opportunities to settle and showcase his ability. As for Burrowes, he continued to show excellent form at youth level last year, and while he was included in matchday squads by Emery last season, he’ll hope to build on that moving forward.
Perhaps loan moves will be more beneficial this season to help them improve and develop their qualities, but surely much will depend on how active we are in the summer transfer window and if we need to promote from within rather than spend big fees on reinforcements.
Despite qualifying for the Champions League for a second time in three years and winning the Europa League last season, it seems as though the off-the-pitch difficulties will continue for Villa until we are able to drive up revenue levels to a point where we can enjoy more financial flexibility, and hopefully we’re able to remain competitive and keep building in the meantime.
