Emiliano Martinez
Emiliano Martinez(Image: Getty Images)
This time last year Aston Villa were frantically wheeling and dealing to make sure they stayed on the right side of the Premier League’s Profitability & Sustainability Rules.
In what, in pure footballing terms, could be seen as a regressive step out went Douglas Luiz and Tim Iroegbunam as part of a flurry of transfers designed to make sure that by the time June 30 rolled round the Villans were fully compliant.
This summer could be slightly different, firstly because the transfer window has already opened, will shut on Tuesday and will reopen again at the end of the week to facilitate deals for the Club World Cup.
But having missed out on Champions League football on the final day of the season, there could yet be a transfer or two to make sure Villa can bank enough profit for this financial year. That has led to speculation that another key player could be cashed in. Here our writers consider who that might be.
Steve Wollaston
Leon Bailey is a player of undoubted ability, indeed on his day, he's somewhat unplayable. For me, he should be the first player that Villa look to get out of the squad to help balance the books.
It's not even that Bailey has been a disaster, or even a bad player for Villa. What he hasn't done though is make himself irreplaceable.
Aside from moments of brilliance, he hasn't set Villa Park alight, and the team can function very well without him.
He is used well by Unai Emery in rotation as part of the bigger squad, but if a good sizeable fee came in for him, you would probably argue that it would be frugal business sense to cash in while he is at a good age and playing reasonably well at the top level.
You'd expect that Villa would get back the fee that they paid Bayer Leverkusen, back in 2021.
There will be takers too, the winger is thought be of big interest to Saudi league newcomers Neom. With rumours of a huge wage package on offer, and a £25m fee - it's a deal that would make sense for everyone concerned.
Villa fans would wish him well, but I am not sure he will be remembered much in three or four years time.
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Brian Dick
I’m afraid I’m about to commit sacrilege. If it’s profit you’re looking to bank Jacob Ramsey represents the biggest chunk. As a homegrown player the 24-year-old would be money in the bank and that’s what Villa are trying to achieve here.
Obviously they could simply sell Morgan Rogers to the highest bidder and in all likelihood clear nine figures and net the kind of windfall that made Jack Grealish’s sale look so good on the balance sheet.
However, Rogers is a crown jewel, someone whose availability can be relied upon and someone who is guaranteed goal involvements.
Last season Ramsey stared four out of ten Champions League games, 19 out of 38 Premier League fixtures and had a period out through injury. He missed even more time in 2023/24.
In truth Villa’s squad could absorb the loss of Ramsey in the way they couldn’t some of their regular starters and while reports of interest at Newcastle and Tottenham might be wide of mark, what is clear is that at this stage in his career the midfielder needs more regular game-time. A move might be painful but it could suit both parties.
James Pallatt
The two players who have cast doubts over their Villa futures are two players the club needs to keep the most.
Emi Martinez and Youri Tielemans have both refused to rule out leaving Villa Park this summer, since the end of the season.
Speaking on international duty with Argentina, Martínez stated: "My future? I don't know. I'm here to play for the national team, and that's all I care about right now.
"Do I want to change clubs? The transfer market has just opened, so there's still a lot to do."
While Tielemans struck a worryingly similar tone on international duty with Belgium. "I feel good at Villa. I feel a lot of confidence from the club and the coach," he said.
"I was constantly at a very high level and was very involved in Villa's game. I have made progress in all areas.
"Does that make me think about a transfer? Nothing is ruled out, but I am not really thinking about that.”
Unless either player is agitating for a transfer behind the scenes, which there is no evidence to suggest they are, neither should be sold this summer. End of story.
Both would command big transfer fees which would undeniably help ease any PSR pressures, but it would be reckless to sell Martinez when there is no clear successor as No.1, while Tielemans’ importance is clear after he waltzed off with both the Supporters’ Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season awards at the end of the season.
If Villa are once again forced into reluctantly selling a player this summer to comply with PSR, just like they were last summer when Luiz left for Juventus, then Ramsey would make them a big chunk of pure profit being a homegrown player.
A potential departure for Leon Bailey to the Saudi Pro League would tick the same boxes as Moussa Diaby, too, with Villa likely to receive a big fee for a player who is not irreplaceable.
Joe Chapman
I'd be inclined to agree that both Bailey and Ramsey are viable candidates in the event Villa need to make a swift but substantial sale.
Like 12 months ago with Luiz, though, it may have to be an unpalatable first-teamer sale which many might not have anticipated.
There are a number of players who ought to be ringfenced here. Ezri Konsa, Morgan Rogers, maybe Boubacar Kamara while his contract talks are ongoing.
There has been an awful lot of speculation surrounding Emi Martinez since even before the end of the season.
His teary-eyed departure from the field after the victory over Tottenham Hotspur did little to allay concerns that that was the final time we'd ever see him at Villa Park, especially when a day later it was accompanied by reports that Dibu has interest from Europe and Saudi.
At this stage, while many supporters - certainly those of a younger age - will concede that Martinez is the best goalkeeper they've seen play for the club, he is as sizeable an asset as they possess in their squad, certainly in terms of his global profile.
Villa cleverly ensured that his contract situation wouldn't be an issue and, having signed a new deal only last summer, they can command a hefty sum of money.
Martinez didn't exactly dampen the speculation when he was asked while on international duty about his future and, sadly, I think many Villa fans have already begun to come to terms with the real possibility that there'll be another keeper, ready to make himself a Holte End hero, in the new season. Villa financially, however, will be in the clear.