Unai Emery set for owner talks on Aston Villa transfer window and FFP plans
Unai Emery will sit down with Villa’s owners next week to thrash out plans for the summer with the boss confirming the club must tread carefully due to financial fair play constraints.
Emery is confident of building a squad which can compete in both the Premier League and Champions League next season, with the focus on recruiting quality over quantity.
But he conceded Villa’s first task will be to ensure they remain within the Premier League’s profit and sustainability limits.
Villa reported a loss of nearly £120million for the 2022-23 season and the expectation is they will need to sell a player early in the window, though Emery would not confirm this on Friday.
The club are expected to bank an estimated £50m next season after qualifying for the Champions League and Emery said: “Financially, being in the Champions League is better than not. Our budget could be better.
“But we have to manage at the beginning the fair play for this season. Then we can build.
“I think we can be intelligent and build a strong team to compete in the Champions League, the Premier League and the cups.”
Cameron Archer will return to Villa this summer following Sheffield United’s relegation from the Premier League. The striker moved north last August but the £18m deal included a clause which would bring him back if the Blades failed to stay in the top flight, with Villa expected to receive around half the total fee.
No final decision has yet been taken on loan signings Nicolo Zaniolo and Clement Lenglet, though neither are expected to return. Calum Chambers is among those who will be allowed to leave, while Villa will also try to negotiate a permanent exit for Philippe Coutinho.
Emery will meet with owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, along with sporting director Monchi and head of football operations Damian Vidagany to go through the plan.
He said: “We have to be intelligent. We must arrange at the beginning the fair play and through that to try and be intelligent to try and build a new team.
“More or less, we are not thinking to add a lot of players. We are trying to be intelligent, how we can improve the squad with some players.
“Of course, we are going to be very demanding in getting the best possible to improve the squad. But we have to work now, deeply analysing it.”
