Aston Villa: Douglas Luiz exit mooted as £110m+ Villa Park development emerges
Aston Villa losing Douglas Luiz in the summer transfer window would be “heartbreaking” after a development has emerged, according to Dan Bardell.
Villa reported their end of year accounts on their website on Monday (4 March), which showed that the club made a loss of £119.9million for the year ending 31 May, 2023.
But the Villans have insisted that the figures are “in line with the strategic business plan” and fall within the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
Bardell admits that the financial news coming out of Villa Park is a “concern” and that it would be a “huge blow” if they were forced to sell someone like Luiz, but he hopes potentially qualifying for the Champions League this season would help them avoid any high-profile exits.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “When teams lose over £100million, it never sounds great.
“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.”
Could Douglas Luiz leave Aston Villa?
The financial reports coming out of Villa will be worrying and it has no doubt ramped up the speculation about whether Luiz could leave in the summer.
As Bardell points out, it would be heartbreaking for the fans to see the Brazilian international leave after his fine form this season, but that could potentially be avoided if they do finish in the top four.
There are a few different factors that could dictate the 25-year-old’s future, but it would took a lot of money for any interested parties to prize him away from Villa Park.
In other Aston Villa news, a journalist has shared the likelihood of Emery joining Liverpool.
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