Aston Villa Transfer DealSheet: Barkley latest, Duran future and Gallagher admired (2024)

“Intelligent” will be the key word and theme of Aston Villa’s summer.

Manager Unai Emery, before last week’s meeting with the club’s co-owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris, stressed the importance of Villa being astute in the transfer market, staving off the looming threat of profit and sustainability rules (PSR) breaches while remaining nimble and ambitious enough to upgrade a squad that will be competing in the Champions League, Villa’s first time in Europe’s premier competition since they were its defending champions in 1982-83.

Villa are in an intricate position.

Ordinarily, clubs entering into Europe’s blue-chip competition will have access to newfound riches and attract a distinctive player bracket. And this is true to some extent, but the financial boost of the Champions League will largely serve as a cushion against the PSR threat. Even then, Villa are still not out of the woods — there is an internal acknowledgement that before they can sanction investment on premium talent, they will need to turn the PSR cannon in the opposite direction.

What positions are Villa looking at this summer?

Central midfield is a priority. Tentative forecasts earlier this year suggested chief midfield anchor Boubacar Kamara will not return to fitness until October after his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, with Villa having to compensate for his absence over the season’s final three months. No Kamara put a burden on team-mates who Emery would prefer to use in more advanced positions — such as John McGinn or Youri Tielemans — while the Frenchman’s usual partner, Douglas Luiz, also saw his form impacted.

An alternative to Ollie Watkins up front will be looked at, providing the resolution to the question of Jhon Duran‘s future isn’t to sell him. It is unknown how Duran will deal with increased expectation and, more importantly, the frustration from his camp over a perceived lack of game time, which is unlikely to subside. Emery is an admirer of Chelsea’s England midfielder Conor Gallagher and such sentiments were echoed in January from Chelsea towards Duran.

But again, to continue the underlying theme, signings will be influenced by outgoings — both in terms of position played and the amount of money raised.

For example, strengthening in either full-back position is being looked at. If either Lucas Digne — among Villa’s highest earners at around £120,000 a week — or Alex Moreno, who is on significantly less but is, like Digne, now in his thirties and has suffered from recurring injury issues, departs then the club will buy a left-back.

A winger who can operate from both sides, such as Leeds United’s Crysencio Summerville, would assist Emery’s build-up structure and is among several facets of the squad that will be assessed for fine-tuning.

In January, Villa signed right-back Kosta Nedeljkovic from Red Star Belgrade in a deal worth around £8million. The 18-year-old is viewed as a one for the future, having returned to Red Star for the remainder of the season. Villa had tracked Nedelkjovic since making his first-team debut at the start of last season and Emery will judge whether he can provide ample competition for Matty Cash at right-back, with the squad short of options in that area.

Which players are they looking at?

Speaking of central midfield, Ross Barkley fits Villa’s criteria and the need for intelligence. Barkley impressed in Luton Town’s surprise 2023-24 Premier League campaign, playing in a deeper role which, despite a different system, has a similar remit to what Emery expects from his double pivot. Even though he remains under contract at Luton, who expect him to be at the first day of their pre-season, Villa are in advanced talks and pushing hard to finalise a cost-efficient agreement.

Elsewhere, Norwich City’s Jonathan Rowe was looked at in January and there are strong links to Villarreal’s Alex Baena in the Spanish media. Emery has worked with the midfielder before at that La Liga club, which has proven a factor in several of his and president of football operations Monchi’s previous signings. Still, the cost of any deal for the 22-year-old would be prohibitive and would require Villa to be flexible with their spreadsheets.

Who will make the key decisions this summer?

Emery, Monchi, Villa’s owners and president of football operations Damian Vidagany were scheduled to sit down at the end of last month to discuss future plans.

The immediate result was the finalisation of Emery’s new five-year contract.

He, Vidagany and Monchi form the club’s ‘triangle of power’ and although supported by a scouting network and a Spanish contingent, they have full autonomy to shape the footballing department, which is regarded as elite within the industry.

Who will they be looking to sell?

Despite Villa’s outstanding campaign, elevated standards under Emery mean more ruthless decisions. This is exacerbated by the necessity of selling to bring a higher tier of player in, so Villa are open to shifting several of the squad this summer.

As is the case with Digne or Moreno, Diego Carlos is a high earner and on the wrong side of 30, with Villa prepared to listen to offers. Similarly, Villa do not expect Philippe Coutinho, who spent last season on loan at Qatari club Al-Duhail, to return and he is of interest to some teams in his native Brazil, including Vasco Da Gama. Any move, however, will have to be facilitated, including solving the issue of his currently enormous financial package.

As The Athletic reported in February, Nicolo Zaniolo is highly unlikely to stay permanently after his loan from Galatasaray expired. Clement Lenglet, meanwhile, has returned to parent club Barcelona, freeing up a considerable chunk of the salary budget.

The circus encompassing Duran will require a permanent solution one way or another. The forward’s agent has been in England recently, attending Villa games and going to other stadiums, including Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge. Duran was regarded among the world’s most precocious young strikers when Villa signed him in January last year, with Chelsea sharing a similar viewpoint. The 20-year-old has made no secret of his admiration for Chelsea, liking and posting club-related tweets regularly.

In the previous two windows, Villa informed Calum Chambers and Bertrand Traore they were both for sale. Traore eventually departed on deadline day in February while Chambers generated interest throughout the window, holding talks with sides from abroad and domestically, and was open to moving down a division to the Championship. Several clubs stepped up their interest and pursued a loan with an option to buy, yet those talks never materialised into a move.

Chambers’ attitude is admired by Emery and was rewarded with his one and only Premier League start of the season on the final day, away to Crystal Palace. Nonetheless, that show of good faith is unlikely to change the plans over his future at the club.

Decisions will be made on young talents Tim Iroegbunam and Cameron Archer, who has returned from a season’s loan at Sheffield United but will be attempted to be moved on. Both are at stages of their career where playing regularly is paramount.

Which players’ contracts are expiring? Who is expected to renew?

Chambers and Kortney Hause are on deals that expire next year. Hause’s situation, as The Athletic detailed, has proven complex. The key for all sides is for the defender to finally recover from the knee injury that meant he missed the entirety of 2023-24 and find a move away.

What do they have to do before June 30?

Ah, our old friend, PSR. The pressing issue for Villa is to balance the books.

Although supporters will not want to hear or read about it, a sale before the end of the financial year (June 30) would be massively appreciated in remaining compliant with PSR. It formed a factor in January’s thinking regarding the possible departure of Jacob Ramsey, who had several suitors, including Tottenham, Newcastle and Bayern Munich. Selling him would be marked as pure bookable profit, given he is homegrown.

Ideally for all parties, though, Ramsey would stay, meaning Villa have to find creative solutions to their financial concerns. Last month, ownership group NSWE appointed Bjorn Schuurmans as company secretary. Schuurmans is a lawyer and has worked in tax and structuring in previous positions. This expertise will be relied upon in managing this summer’s finances.

What sort of budget do they have?

Emery said Villa are not thinking of signing a “lot of players”. This, in a nutshell, will mean the budget is pliable until there are outgoings. However, as is customary with the desire to placate the manager, senior figures at Villa will do everything in their power to sign a player he and Monchi firmly want. A recent example was the winter-window acquisition of Morgan Rogers, who Emery became a huge advocate for. In part due to Champions League football and Emery’s sway, this will hopefully help to convince the more ambitious targets to join.

“We must arrange the fair play rules and through that, build a new team, but we are not thinking of adding or signing a lot of players,” said Emery. “We are trying to be intelligent and how we can improve the squad. We are going to be very demanding in our decisions, but we have to analyse deeply.”

The issue that will dominate the summer

The elephant in the room with ‘PSR’ painted on its side.

Villa’s wages-to-turnover ratio — the percentage of money spent on employees’ salaries — was 89 per cent in 2022 and 2023, fourth-highest in the Premier League. Tellingly, the only three clubs above them were Leicester City, Nottingham Forest and Everton, all of whom have breached PSR rules and are in varying processes of being sanctioned.

It may be a mind-numbing issue for many fans but it is not going to go away. Still, if navigated correctly and the numbers all add up, there is excitement at the calibre of players Emery and Villa’s football department could bring in to upgrade the current squad.

(Top photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Jacob is a football reporter covering Aston Villa for The Athletic. Previously, he followed Southampton FC for The Athletic after spending three years writing about south coast football, working as a sports journalist for Reach PLC. In 2021, he was awarded the Football Writers' Association Student Football Writer of the Year. Follow Jacob on Twitter @J_Tanswell