Richard Keys drops Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens bombshell – ‘Something feels wrong at Aston Villa’
Aston Villa have started the new campaign terribly, going four games without a win to start the Premier League season.
Players who looked like world beaters last season, like Morgan Rogers, now look like completely different players entirely.
Unai Emery’s side drew 0-0 with Everton to secure their second point of the season, and in truth, they were extremely fortunate to leave Merseyside with a point.
Whilst the majority of the blame has been put towards the players on the pitch, Richard Keys has been critical of Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens.
Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens ‘don’t want to spend’, claims Richard Keys
Although the arrivals of Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho papered over some of the cracks, the transfer window was ultimately a failure for Villa this summer after they agonisingly missed out on Champions League football.
Keys shares this sentiment, and on his personal blog on 15 September, claims that Villa have “stood still” and allowed their direct rivals to pass them.
“In a year when Premier League clubs spent a record £3.29billion in the window, Villa shelled out just £40m,” Keys wrote.
“They haven’t stood still – they’ve gone backwards, and every single one of the teams they might see as rivals has streaked away from them.
“I don’t buy PSR excuses. They apply to every club, but seem not to affect their ambitions. Chelsea spend as they like.
“Newcastle weren’t shy in the last window. Nor were Forest (again), nor [Manchester] United (again). So why are Villa so publicly scared?”
The presenter then went on to make a big claim about Villa’s owners that will shock some members of the fanbase.
“I have no evidence to support this theory, but my feeling is the owners – Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris and American billionaire Wes Edens – don’t want to spend. They’re hiding behind PSR excuses.”
Villa’s arrivals over the summer:
- Jadon Sancho – loan
- Harvey Elliott – loan with a future obligation to buy
- Victor Lindelof – free
- Evan Guessand – £30.5million, potentially rising to £35million with add-ons
- Marco Bizot – undisclosed fee
“My gut tells me something else is going on, but I’ve no idea what. And I can’t think of a good reason why. But something feels wrong.”
Richard Keys backtracks on initial Aston Villa prediction
With their poor start to the season, Villa being predicted to win the Europa League looks more and more unlikely as the games go by.
In the same blog post, Keys revealed that despite tipping the Villans to finish fifth at the end of the Premier League season, he now fears they could be in for a “rough season”.
If Villa have an underwhelming season in which they finish mid-table, and if Emery is unable to spend big next summer, it would be understandable to see the Spanish manager leave B6 after ultimately feeling he cannot take the club any further.
Of course, Villa want to keep the man who masterminded their recent resurgence by any means, but to do this, the ownership must prove to him that they can take that next step of regularly being in the Champions League and competing for trophies, which is undoubtedly the biggest.
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