How much money Aston Villa could lose on Ross Barkley amid Europa League snub
Aston Villa have decided to leave Ross Barkley out of their Europa League squad for the upcoming European campaign.
Barkley, 31, joined the Villans for a second spell last summer after he impressed for Luton Town in the Premier League.
However, since he arrived at Villa Park, the midfielder has failed to establish himself in Unai Emery’s starting XI and struggled with injuries.
With Harvey Elliott also recently signing for Villa, the competition for positions in midfield has been cranked up even further, and Villa need to move Barkley off the books or risk having to pay a player Emery evidently does not fancy.
Aston Villa to save millions if they can facilitate Ross Barkley exit.
With Jadon Sancho arriving on big wages, Monchi and Co. should be looking to cut out unnecessary costs from wherever he deems suitable.
You would assume Barkley would fall under this umbrella, with Capology reporting that the midfielder currently earns £60,000 a week at Villa.
This works out at £3.12million a year, and considering how little he played last season, it would be wise to move him on.
- Barkley has one year remaining on his Villa deal
- He was limited to three Premier League starts last season, playing a total of 615 minutes
- This averages out at just 31 minutes per game
Given the constant talk regarding Villa and PSR, paying over £3million to an ageing player who does not start seems like a silly financial move.
With Barkley being left out of the Europa League squad for this season, this is just further evidence that the midfielder is not a part of Emery’s plans, and the club should act swiftly to get him off the books.
What clubs could Ross Barkley join?
Whilst the transfer window may have slammed shut on 1 September, plenty of other countries’ windows remain open.
Villa must utilise this and sell Barkley, even for a minimum fee, abroad.
The most notable league whose window is still open is the Saudi Pro League, and Villa should be offering Barkley to them and letting these clubs know he is for sale before their 23 September deadline.
Other notable countries whose windows are still open include:
- Netherlands – 11 September
- Turkey – 12 September
- Greece – 12 September
- Portugal – 15 September
However, given the vast amount of resources at the Saudi Pro League’s disposal, they would be the ones most likely to offer the most lucrative deal for Barkley.
The former Evertonian may also wish to continue playing in Europe and potentially take a pay cut to make this happen.
Sign up for the Villa News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Aston Villa news sent straight to your phone.