Finance Expert reacts as Aston Villa owners invest in new academy structure
We’re delighted to welcome football finance expert Dr Daniel Plumley as our exclusive columnist, he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Aston Villa.
Dan Plumley has insisted that the long-term player for the new Aston Villa academy structure will be to produce talent that can be sold on with ease.
The finance expert admitted that finding the next Jack Grealish, who was sold for £100million, would repay the owners and more for the £8million investment put into the new site.
Plumley believes there are real plus points coming from Villa Park right now with this being joined by the stadium redevelopment and investment in transfers.
“That is the long-term play on it,” he exclusively told Villa News.
“Paying £8million upfront is a significant investment but as the football market is at the minute, that is a relatively small change for the owners and Aston Villa given the Premier League revenues on offer.
“So, for that investment to pay off in the long-term, you only need a couple of really good talents coming through and Grealish will always be used as the example.
“If you can develop someone like that and sell them on for £100million, that thing pays for itself 10-fold in the future.
“That is the blueprint and the model, and it’s part of the bigger picture for Villa, investment in the academy, investment in the stadium and investment in the current first-team and you can see it all knitting together, so whenever the owners are committed to that, there are some real plus points.”
Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris have made their intentions clear with Unai Emery, and their investment is not stopping there as it filters through the entire club.
The latest in a long line of first-team graduates, Jacob Ramsey was spotted at the new site as he was given a tour, he will be hoping that many more follow his path.
In other Aston Villa news, the future of this loanee hangs in the balance as contract talks await.