Unai Emery’s side have made a poor start to the new Premier League season and sit 19th in the early standings with just two points and zero goals in their opening four matches
Aston Villa co-owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris pictured at Stamford Bridge
Aston Villa co-owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris(Image: PA Wire)
Richard Keys has a theory about Aston Villa’s current struggles.
Unai Emery’s side have made a poor start to the new Premier League season and sit 19th in the early standings with just two points and zero goals in their opening four matches.
It follows a difficult summer transfer window for the club in which Evann Guessand was the biggest signing in a £30m deal.
Emery’s squad was bolstered on transfer deadline day by the free transfer of former Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof and loan arrivals of Jadon Sancho from Old Trafford and Harvey Elliott from Liverpool.
Keys believes that owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, having backed the club to the tune of hundreds of millions over the years, are now reluctant to continue spending so heavily.
“Just two points and still no goals? Fans have got every right to be asking questions,” said beIN Sports presenter Keys.
“It doesn’t take a genius to work out why. In a year when PL clubs spent a record £3.29b in the window Villa shelled out just £40m. 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 United (again). So why are Villa so publicly scared?
“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.”
“Villa were on the cusp of taking the next step,” he added.
“They were enjoying heady CL nights. Going toe-to-toe with the big boys. At one stage it looked as though they were about to join the elite clubs, but it’s all come crashing down.”
“It’s early days yet and Villa might get going, but after tipping them for a 5th placed finish I fear they’re in for a rough season,” he concluded.
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