Give this Aston Villa team one more shot, and sell in January if need be

Finances permitting, the core of this Aston Villa team deserves one more shot at promotion.

We’re used to having our hearts ripped out by Aston Villa Football Club by now.

But the promotion play-off final defeat was another world of pain. We all kind of knew things would end poorly if Villa lost, but we had no idea how bad it would be. A liquidity crisis followed after a tax bill went unpaid. Threats of administration and revolt ensued as Chief Executive Officer Keith Wyness was axed for undermining owner Dr. Tony Xia’s sinking ship. With seemingly lots of money, but no ways of validly using it, Xia might be forced into serious cost-cutting measures, starting with the squad.

There already exists an exodus from the loan players and free agents, but that’s ‘okay’, the squad was already a little heavy to begin with. There is talk that Aston Villa executives will be forced to sell the services of the club’s core to comply with FFP and simply operate day-to-day. Jack Grealish, James Chester, Albert Adomah, Jonathan Kodjia, Birkir Bjarnason could all leave Villa Park in efforts to raise funds and shrink the wage bill. There is even talk that Keinan Davis and André Green could be the subject of multi-million pound bids. Aston Villa’s players of the future might not be Aston Villa players at all if the club can’t meet its financial obligations.

But this core group of players deserve another shot. They deserve another shot after coming so agonizingly close this season. Just one win separated them being ruined in the EFL Championship vs. they safety of top flight football again. Steve Bruce, too, deserves another shot at promotion. His tactics are questionable, and his ability to change a team in-game is stubbornly horrible. But damn it, he deserves another shot after everything he and club went through this past season.

With a majority of this core group under contract through the summer of 2020, the January transfer window offers a safety net for further extending serious decisions. Those whose contracts expire that summer include: Jack Grealish, Jonathan Kodjia, Conor Hourihane, Albert Adomah, James Chester, Birkir Bjarnason, Ahmed Elmohamady, Keinan Davis, and several others.

Of course, a decision like this doesn’t come without risk. Can Aston Villa even afford to sell only peripheral pieces this summer? Moreover, will they get adequate deals in the future for players with 18 months to run on their contracts? Can Steve Bruce reasonably contend again with very little in reinforcements this summer? Perhaps it’s the optimist in me clouding my judgment, but if Villa can even remotely compete for a top-2 finish next year, they better take advantage.

Because this rebuild will be insufferably long if promotion doesn’t happen.

What’s another six month wait going to do?