The tricky Champions League issue Aston Villa must consider in their £50m transfer chase

Aston Villa will be on the hook for profit and sustainability rules once Douglas Luiz completes his €50m move to Juventus this week, allowing the club to loosen the purse strings somewhat in their bid to improve Unai Emery’s squad.

It’s harder said than done when Villa qualified for Champions League football last season and now lose a key player like Luiz. But the club’s recruitment chiefs are taking full advantage of a frustrating situation, signing Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea on separate deals with Juventus, plus Ian Maatsen and Ross Barkley from Chelsea and Luton Town respectively.

Once these deals get over the line, Villa will have a stacked squad with a good mix of youth and experience from back to front. Of course, there are doubts over Jhon Duran’s future, while Villa will also listen to offers for Diego Carlos and Alex Moreno.

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Every player has their price, but Villa believe certain players are ‘untouchable’ this summer following the sale of Luiz – one of their key assets. Matty Cash is attracting interest from AC Milan and Inter this summer, but both are currently unwilling to meet his £30m price tag.

If Duran, Carlos or Cash were to leave, then Villa would likely replace those players directly as they would lack depth in those specific positions. However, if Villa were to add another player to their squad who is not a replacement for someone who has left, following the five expected arrivals mentioned above, then Emery would be faced with a major decision regarding his squad for the Champions League.

Villa have a definite interest in Chelsea’s £50m-rated Conor Gallagher this summer, as well as other midfielders including Everton’s Amadou Onana. While planning to sell Luiz began 18 months ago, with the pursuit of Youri Tielemans and then Barkley this summer, Villa’s interest in other midfielders seems to suggest the club are not yet satisfied with their options and would could spend a considerable sum to replenish that department of Emery’s. team.

Villa will be allowed to register 21 non-club-trained players in their 25-man Champions League squad. Jacob Ramsey will be one of four ‘club-trained’ players, but Villa don’t need to sign another three, it just means they will have fewer options to call upon.

Four players from the 21 must be “association trained”, which will be Emi Martinez, Ezri Konsa, Barkley and Ollie Watkins, for example. It leaves Villa with 17 players who do not have to be classed as ‘homegrown’.

Villa can only name two senior goalkeepers, given that including three would mean two senior outfield players would have to be dropped. Konsa, Pau Torres, Maatsen are guaranteed to be included, while Tyrone Mings, Matty Cash, Diego Carlos and Lucas Digne should also be named. If not them, then a player who replaced them in the market.

John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Ramsey, Boubacar Kamara, Barkley, Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea are expected to feature in the squad as midfielders, with Ollie Watkins, Moussa Diaby, Morgan Rogers, Leon Bailey, Emi Buendia and Duran – or a substitute for the Colombian – named striker.

This is a sorted 22-man squad, but where a problem could arise is if Villa add another midfielder to their ranks, as McGinn, Tielemans and Kamara all remain and will not be sold. The addition of Gallagher, for example, takes the squad size to 23, which will not be allowed as the three remaining spots in the 22-man squad are reserved for those “club-trained” players.

It would give Emery the decision to take which player to drop from the squad. Perhaps he would look at his options on the left with Iling-Junior able to fill in at left back, while Ramsey, Rogers, Buendia and Tielemans can all play in the advanced left role.

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