Jacob Raw

Mon 6 April 2026 17:00, UK

Aston Villa have been in financial struggles in recent times, and their handling of signings like Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio proves why.

The Villans have had to battle PSR constraints, and now face Squad Cost Ratio limits, with transfer signings always under the microscope.

Rashford and Asensio were two big-name arrivals at Villa Park in the winter window of last season, who both joined on loan deals.

In light of Villa’s problems, NSWE are said to have paid 80 per cent of Rashford’s £325,000-a-week salary anyway, and full coverage of Asensio’s six-figure weekly pay check, as reported by The Athletic.

Not much has changed since last season; if anything, Villa’s financial troubles have only grown, with this latest reveal truly telling of the club’s thinking.

NSWE’s short-term issue doesn’t stop with Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio

Not only did Villa pay the big bucks for Rashford and Asensio to stay at Villa Park for half a season on loan, but they paid Chelsea a whopping £5million to borrow Axel Disasi in the same season.

To put that into perspective, West Ham managed to pull off the same loan deal for the Frenchman this winter, but only ended up paying the Blues a reported £2m in loan fees for his short-term services.

Villa’s end-of-year accounts did show signs of improvement, but club losses and constraints are still an issue, with the plan still for long-term growth.

While the money spent on Asensio and Rashford can be looked at as the reason for Villa’s extended run in the Champions League that season, winning the competition was never a guarantee.

NSWE’s poor decision-making doesn’t stop with this trio, as the Villans brought in Jadon Sancho to B6 on a £160,000 a week wage this summer, while also covering costs for Harvey Elliott’s salary, for effectively nothing in return.

The list of expensive short-term signings goes on, and it may leave Villa fans wondering when are their club going to look at their own actions in the market as a major reason for their financial stress.

What could Villa’s accounts look like for this season?

NSWE have even had to go to the lengths of selling Aston Villa Women internally this season to aid financial constraints, as details on whether Villa stay below UEFA’s £5m loss limit will come out soon.

Any over expenditure could mean the Villans get themselves in trouble with UEFA. Winning the Europa League would be a major success, for many different reasons, but it would bring in less money than what NSWE pocketed for the Champions League run last campaign.

Assuming Villa avoid Elliott’s £40m contract clause, they’ll swerve a big outgoing fee there, but they haven’t shied away from spending this season either.

A £6.6m net spend in the winter window could also be negative on the books, but Villa fans just have to put their trust in NSWE that things will work out.