Finance Expert shares £160m+ verdict as Aston Villa transfer doubt emerges
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 it is tricky to call Clement Lenglet a mistake by Aston Villa in the transfer market when you consider their Premier League revenue.
The Sun shared on 16 November that the Frenchman is the “most expensive benchwarmer” in the Premier League, earning £2.1million without playing a single league minute.
Plumley admitted that it is still a short period that is being examined, and against an annual revenue upwards of £160million, while things are going well on the pitch, that means very little.
“It’s tricky, isn’t it,” he exclusively told Villa News.
“When we look at the narrative around mistakes in the market, it is still quite a short time period that we are covering.
“Perhaps we expected him to get more game time, I think Barcelona have come out recently and said that they are concerned, but that was a bit of press hearsay as well, but it is up to the manager who plays and Villa are having a strong season.
“I think the interesting thing about that number, if we take that in context and overlay it, that seems quite a lot for £2.1million for a player who has hardly played, but while the club are doing ok on the pitch, and we know that each position in the Premier League is worth roughly about £2million.
“So, if it is working on the pitch and you finish higher up in the table than you did last year, with or without him, that then as a net benefit, you could look at it that way.
“It is really tricky, but it is hard to argue at the minute with how they’re performing at the minute and £2.1million against a turnover of £160-180million, and their position in the Premier League.
“When you look at it through that lens, the bigger picture is probably not a huge cost against Aston Villa’s revenue profile.”
In other Aston Villa news, NSWE have made yet another shrewd decision after signing off on transfer business