Matt Maher on the PSR scramble and Aston Villa's transfer activity
Jonny Drury and Matt Maher sat down to discuss the transfer comings and goings at Villa Park.
It looks set to be a busy week at Villa Park - with senior and young players set to depart the club as Villa look to meet PSR financial regulations.
Matt looks at why Villa have had to go down this route - and the players who will be arriving and leaving.
It looks set to be a busy week at Villa Park - with senior and young players set to depart the club as Villa look to meet PSR financial regulations.
Matt looks at why Villa have had to go down this route - and the players who will be arriving and leaving.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Mark, a lot of transfer activity talk around Villa at the moment, and a lot of it centres
00:12around the controversial PSR rules, which have been talked about all summer across multiple
00:18clubs, Villa sort of more than anyone. Names coming in, names going out, youngsters going
00:23out. What's your take on it all and just a little bit of chat really on what looks
00:30like it's going to be a pretty busy week for Villa in terms of incomings and outgoings?
00:34Well, it's the busiest June I think I can ever remember. I mean, June is usually a quiet
00:40month, particularly during an international, a summer where there's an international tournament
00:43because most people go on holiday and you don't tend to see things getting done until
00:49July even though there's always talks going on. But obviously, you know, we said when
00:55we spoke a few weeks ago that Villa were going to be busy because, you know, they've got
00:59this concern over profit and sustainability and reigning within the rules. So they had
01:04to get players out by June 30th. You know, that's pretty much what they're going to achieve.
01:09Douglas Luiz is going to go to Juventus. Tim O'Robinon has already gone to Everton. And
01:18Maury Kellyman looks like he's going to Chelsea. John Duran might go to Chelsea as well. But
01:23that deal is no longer perhaps as vital as it was a couple of weeks ago, or no longer
01:30seems as vital as it was a couple of weeks ago, because I don't think Villa now need
01:34to sell Duran to stay within the profit and sustainability rules. That's my understanding
01:40anyway. So yeah, it's been a it's been a fairly intriguing few weeks. You know,
01:47Unai Emery said they were going to have to be intelligent in the market. And I have been
01:51in terms of we would say that they have been in the deals they've done where Luiz is going
01:56to Juventus and Villa are getting two players, you know, to bolster the squad in return.
02:04And obviously, you know, they've also signed Lewis Dobbin from Everton.
02:08And they're buying Ian Martson from Chelsea. So you know, it's the squad is going to be
02:16stronger numbers wise. And they've, whether it's stronger quality wise,
02:22that's perhaps another question. But obviously they have, you know, the big issue was this
02:27was PSR. And it looks as though they have found a way to solve it.
02:33What's your opinion on those rules? Because I've seen a few pieces written over the last few days,
02:37one, a couple of sort of journalists have called it a potential loophole. And there's other clubs
02:41that are sort of selling their youngsters for maybe higher fees than maybe some people might
02:45think that they're actually worth. You know, is this the pitfall of PSR on clubs having to sort
02:50of scramble to meet the deadlines, meet the rules in terms of these sort of finances?
02:56Well, yes and no. I mean, my view on the profit and sustainability rules is
03:04you need some kind of check. You need some kind of rule because the alternative is,
03:09and look, I know Villa have got very wealthy owners worth about, you know, 10 billion.
03:16They're one of the richest clubs in the world, but they're not as rich as Manchester City or
03:21Newcastle who are backed by nation states. And if there were no rules would just
03:25blow everybody else out of the water. This is where it all falls down. You need some kind
03:30of restriction. I do think there is an issue quite clearly in that the rules as they currently
03:35are do to a large extent protect the status quo. And I do think it's slightly farcical that the
03:44regulations or the limits, financial limits have not changed to reflect inflation and the way that
03:49the transfer market has gone. You know, 105 million over three years was set when, you know,
03:5720 million was a huge amount of money. It still is. That's you and me. But you've got scenarios
04:03now where, you know, kids have made six first time appearances again for 19 million as Amari
04:09Kellyman with Will to Chelsea. So I do think, you know, they need to be amended. They obviously are
04:15going to amend them. They're looking at a way, you know, to more the UEFA model of having,
04:22you've been able to spend a percentage of your revenues. But even that has issues because the
04:31big six have revenues which far outstrip currently everybody else in the division.
04:37So, but it does give clubs a bit more, it does give clubs a bit more wriggle room.
04:44You know, the flip side to all this though is that clubs agree to these, you know,
04:48these were voted in by Premier League clubs. They agree to these rules. Now, I mean, I suppose
04:53Nassif Zahiris would turn around and say, well, actually Villa wouldn't. Well, no, actually Villa
04:56were in the Premier League when these rules came in. He wasn't Villa's owner. You know, but they
05:03knew these rules were in place. So, you know, they've had to find ways of getting around them.
05:12Or, you know, well, they feel they have to find ways of getting around them. The alternative
05:18would be to, you know, clubs could always turn around and say, you know what, actually,
05:22we're paying a ludicrous amount of money here for the players. And they are,
05:26you know, it's got stupid. I mean, where does it end? That would be, you know, for everybody to
05:33just get a bit of common sense probably would help the situation. But clearly the alternative
05:41at the minute when you've got, and Villa, you know, made this clear last summer when they sold
05:46Cameron Archer, it turned out to be just a very, you know, expensive loan to Sheffield United. He's
05:54coming back. Aaron Ramsey to Burnley and Jadon Fullerjean to Hull that they were prepared to
05:59cash in on, you know, their young players to, you know, to help them out in the profit and
06:06sustainability column. You know, but, you know, you can't get away from the fact that,
06:15you know, the rules are there. And, you know, clubs have breached these rules last season.
06:22There's not really any excuse for doing so. Because you know what, you know, you know,
06:26how the, you know, how the rules are. Villa and other clubs, it would seem perhaps have found a
06:31way to, say, you know, loophole. I mean, they're still selling Douglas Luiz, a player they don't
06:39really want to sell, to stay within the rules. They still, they don't really want to sell
06:44Kellyman. But yeah, it does seem like a byproduct of these, of the rules as I currently stand is
06:50that young players are going to be sold off for, you know, for profit and to help stay within the
06:56PSR restrictions. But I mean, if you want to, you know, I suppose that the argument from Villa,
07:02well it is the argument from Villa, is that you want to, you know, you want to be ambitious and
07:05you want to compete at the top and you want to get there quickly, then you've got to, you know,
07:10you've got to get creative, you've got to get intelligent and you've got to find ways around
07:14the problem, which, you know, they have. Just think with the, you know, the, obviously we'll
07:21address these stories about the Premier League checking these deals. I mean, it's horribly
07:27convenient, isn't it? That, you know, Everton and Villa have both got issues with PSR and have,
07:34you know, graded play, you know, signed a player off each other. Obviously, as I think many fans
07:41know now, but perhaps not everybody because, you know, it's getting to the stage where you need an
07:45accountancy degree to follow football transfers. Any sales, particularly those of young players,
07:53you know, which are pure profit, go immediately into the profit column. Whereas signing, so Lewis
07:59Dobbin, he signed a five-year contract, the 10 million fee is spread over the length of his
08:06contract and you can spread it out over five years. So everybody's going to be getting a
08:11five-year contract. But this idea that the Premier League are going to be checking these
08:18transfers, but that they check every transfer, every transfer has to be ratified by the Premier
08:22League. So the Robbenham and Dobbin deals have already been signed off. And I think this notion
08:28that, well, deals have got to be done in good faith. Well, yeah, obviously. But how are the
08:35Premier League going to police this? Well, you can't really. And do the Premier League really
08:40want to get in a situation where they're questioning the value of players? I mean,
08:44it's a fair element, a can of worms there, isn't it? You know, you're going to then question,
08:50you know, every transfer. You know, 19 million pounds for a player who's made six appearances,
08:5618 years old. It's a ridiculous fee, isn't it? Let's be honest. But if Chelsea are willing to
09:02pay it, then they're willing to pay it. You know, the value of a player is whatever, you know,
09:08anyone is willing to pay for them. So, I mean, I think it's, you know, look, it's,
09:15there's going to be a lot of people looking at these deals and raising eyebrows. But,
09:20you know, in terms of what can be done about it, not a huge amount from what I can see.