Aston Villa get £42m boost thanks to Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa

Aston Villa have received a £40m financial boost thanks to the likes of Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa.

Villa enjoyed a magnificent campaign in 2023-24 under Unai Emery.

The Spaniard steered the club to the Champions League for the first time since 1982-83, fending off competition from clubs with budgets twice the size of theirs.

Thanks in part to quasi-swap deals involving the likes of Tim Iroegbunam before the 30th a June cut-off, they appear to have met the Premier League’s PSR threshold for the three years up to 2023-24 in the process.

However, their task gets much steeper from 2024-25, with Jack Grealish’s sale dropping out of the three-year PSR assessment period anddue to UEFA’s more restrictive approach to spending regulation.

They will likely have to sell players to comply.

Thanks to their performances last season, they have a number of assets that could fetch a handsome price.

Aston Villa’s squad soars in value

Analysis conducted by industry expertsFootball Benchmark has ranked the greatest overachievers in European football across 2023-24 based on a range of financial metrics.

Unsurprisingly, Villa were named the club who most surpassed expectations.

One feature of the report assessed squad value, finding that Villa’s players are worth £43m more than they were last season, with the total squad value climbing from £530m to £573m.

That eight per cent upswing isthanks in large part to the likes of Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins, who were among the standouts in a magnificent campaign.

If Villa are forced to sell to comply with PSR, the inflation of the squad’s overall value will stand them in good stead.

Villa fans, of course, will hope it does not come to that.

Villa on track to break financial record – but it might not be enough

Villa are projected to break their revenue record by the time it comes to release their 2023-24 accounts.

Thanks to their participation in the lucrative and expanded Champions League format, they will do so again in 2024-25.

Their new commercial deals with kit manufacturer Adidas and front-of-shirt partner Betano will also help boost sponsorship income considerably.

However, analysis suggests that they will struggle to meet UEFA’s PSR threshold without significant profit in player sales.

That will reinforce those who suggest that clubs are being punished for showing the ambition to break into Europe’s elite.