Aston Villa’s first transfer window of the summer is now officially underway, with club president Monchi given a small chance to recruit new players from June 1 to June 10, with the window then reopening again on June 16 through to September 1.
Aston Villa transfer window challenges amid PSR concern
Villa eventually missed out on qualification for the Champions League during a tense final day battle, but Unai Emery does have Europa League football to look forward to, and there is every chance they can go on to win the competition.
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As we’ve seen from Tottenham’s recent triumph against Man United in Bilbao, it would hand Villa a unique route back into the Champions League for 2026/2027, so Emery will be taking their Europa League conquest very seriously.
Rank
Team
Points
GD
Man City
71
+28
Chelsea
69
+21
Newcastle
66
+21
6
Aston Villa
66
+7
7
Nottingham Forest
65
+12
It is set to be a big summer for NSWE, as their failure to qualify for Europe’s most prestigious competition next season makes the next two transfer windows ever so slightly trickier – both financially and in terms of attracting the continent’s best players.
There is also the matter of PSR, with Villa announcing substantial losses of £85.4 million for the 2023/2024 season back in April. Reports even suggest that they may have to sell their women’s team to comply with PSR (The Times), but BBC chief football writer Phil McNulty says that any player sales conducted this summer will be carefully thought out.
“Aston Villa may have to do deals to fend off any lingering PSR concerns, but I think the club are in safe hands with the current ownership and those sales will be smart without weakening the squad,” said McNulty.
“We have even seen Morgan Rogers linked with Chelsea, but I do not see Villa entertaining that sort of deal as they want to push on from what Unai Emery has already achieved.”
Mainstay Villa keeper Emiliano Martínez is a key player who’s been repeatedly linked with the exit door recently, with Espanyol star Joan Garcia recently eyed up as a potential replacement for the Argentine.
Unai Emery rates Joan Garcia "highly" as Aston Villa face Barcelona threat
There are suggestions in Spain that Villa have already made an offer for Garcia, whose contract includes a £25 million release clause, but this is yet to gain traction among reliable media outlets closer to home.
To make matters more complicated, Fabrizio Romano and other reliable media sources also state that Barcelona are thought to be very advanced over a transfer for Garcia – so NSWE may now need to launch a hijack attempt.
Commenting on Villa’s links to the “exciting” 25-year-old, and Martinez’s potential exit, a former chief scout at Villa Park, Mick Brown, has shared what he’s heard on the matter.
Speaking to Football Insider, Brown says that Emery rates Garcia “highly” as Aston Villa plot a move for him, with Martinez looking likely to leave the club.
“Emery and Monchi still have strong connections in Spain,” said Brown.
“They’ll be speaking to them about the possibility of the deal because they’ve identified this Joan Garcia as one of their options in goal. In normal circumstances, if you’ve got a goalkeeper like Emi Martinez, you’re going to want to keep him.
“But the financial situation they’re in after missing out on the Champions League, and a bit of interference from his agent, mean they might have to sell. There’s been a lot of talk about his future at the club.
“So with that, they’ve already started looking at players who could come in and replace him.
“I don’t know much about the Spanish goalkeeper, but he’s young and Emery rates him highly, so he could well be the one they go for.”