Aston Villa line up Lucas Paqueta in stunning late raid on West Ham
Aston Villa’s failures in the transfer market are beginning to show their consequences on the pitch.
Villa were defeated 1-0 by Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium to remain without a win in their first two league games this season, their worst start since 2019/20.
Unai Emery’s side have also failed to find the net so far this season, and their lack of potency in attack is becoming a big concern to fans.
Villa look set to be active in the final week of the transfer window to bring in reinforcements, and one of those reinforcements appears to be West Ham United’s Lucas Paqueta.
Lucas Paqueta open to move away from West Ham
Paqueta has endured a tough few seasons at West Ham, with the midfielder being subject to an investigation into betting allegations by the FA.
After being cleared of all charges, the Brazilian is open to a move away from the London Stadium this summer for a club playing in the Champions League.
The Mail on Sunday’s print edition (24 August, page 85) reports that Villa are interested in bringing Paqueta to Villa Park.
However, a lack of Champions League football could scupper those plans, having missed out on the competition on the final day of last season.
Tottenham Hotspur are also interested, but a deal there would be tricky given the fierce rivalry between the two clubs.
Villa are also exploring a deal for Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, who is set to leave Chelsea this summer, but are also again having to worry about the Premier League’s financial rules, despite selling the club’s women’s side to comply with PSR rules.
Aston Villa’s wage bill is coming back to bite them
Unai Emery’s side’s ambition this season is to return to the Champions League after missing out last season, but right now that looks to be a pipe dream.
Ultimately, the problem for Villa is their Profit and Sustainability issues, with the club’s commitment on high wages coming back to haunt them.
According to Capology, the following players are on over £100,000-a-week at Villa Park:
- Boubacar Kamara
- Youri Tielemans
- Emiliano Martinez
- Donyell Malen
- Amadou Onana
- Ollie Watkins
- Lucas Digne
- John McGinn
That’s far too many players on high wages for a club like Villa, who aren’t able to generate as much revenue as the “Big Six” at the moment.
Unai Emery will know the window on his current side’s success is closing, and he needs to begin to move some of these big earners on to refresh his squad.
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