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According to Dan Bardell, it would be “heartbreaking” for Aston Villa to lose Douglas Luiz during the summer transfer season.
Villa incurred a deficit of £119.9 million for the year ended May 31, 2023, according to the end-of-year records the club released on their website on Monday, March 4.
The Villans, however, have maintained that the numbers are “in line with the strategic business plan” and comply with the profit and sustainability regulations (PSR) of the Premier League.
While Bardell acknowledges that the financial news coming out of Villa Park is “concerning” and that losing someone like Luiz would be a “huge blow,” he hopes that the team’s likely qualification for the Champions League this season would help them prevent any high-profile departures.
Bardell remarked exclusively to Villa News, “It never sounds great when teams lose over £100 million.”
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“I’m not an expert in this area, but my understanding is that the last three years, Villa have been able to get by on PSR due to the fact they sold Jack Grealish for £100million and that three-year period is now going to be up.
“It may be that Villa have to sell someone again. The way these rules operate, I don’t think the average person really knows how they work. I think if Villa could qualify for the Champions League, that would certainly help.
“But as much as I don’t like it, I would imagine ticket prices will go up again next season, that feels inevitable to me. Villa are going to find other ways to market themselves.
“They’ve got new branding deals, of course, we all know it’s going to be Adidas next season for Villa, so they’re finding new ways of making money.
“Unless you’re Manchester City, I think if any club gets offered big money for a player, they have to look at it now. It does offer flexibility in the transfer market selling someone because that money gets into account on the duration that’s left on their contract.
“I think if you sell someone who’s got two years left on their contract for £100million, that classes as £50million per season, which gives you a lot of wriggle room in terms of bringing players in. I think all good clubs sell players for big money on a profit to enable them to improve the squad overall.
“There’s no one in Villa’s best team that I would want to lose. Losing Douglas Luiz would be heartbreaking because, at the moment, I think he’s one of the best players in his position in the Premier League, so to lose him would be a huge blow.
“I think maybe the only other thing here is that the big clubs in the Premier League, it’s the same for them as it is for Villa. PSR is making life very difficult.
“It could be that, by default, Villa don’t actually lose anyone because the players are so good now that they’re worth too much and the bigger clubs aren’t going to be able to come in and take players.
“Hopefully, Villa can just qualify for the Champions League and it will eliminate some of these problems, but it is a concern.”
Douglas Luiz might depart from Aston Villa.
Concerning financial reports from Villa, there’s little doubt that they’ve increased the chatter surrounding Luiz’s potential summer departure.
As Bardell notes, it would be tragic for the supporters to lose the Brazilian international following his excellent play this year, but if they do get in the top four, that might not happen.
The 25-year-old’s future could be determined by a number of circumstances, but it would take a sizable sum of money for any interested parties to lure him away from Villa Park.
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