Aston Villa In A Good Place Regarding Premier League Squad Restrictions

Per Premier League regulation, top flight clubs can only register twenty-five players over the age of twenty-one. Of which, no more than seventeen can be non-homegrown. How do Aston Villa shape-up?

A new league births new regulations which Aston Villa must adhere to.

Using last year’s registration list from Premier League clubs, we can make a rough draft for Villa using the same restrictions. First off, all players born on or after 1 January 1998 are considered Under-21 and do not need to be registered. This rule encourages youth development and allows clubs to freely use players from their respective academies if need be.

For Villa? That means Keinan Davis, Callum O’Hare, André Green, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, and many others will not count against the 25-man registration list. Now some of the above players will go out on loan, but it gives manager Dean Smith more room to work with. Moreover, (hopefully) new signing Douglas Luiz will not count either, as he is considered under-21 as well.

Next off, there is the issue of the Home-Grown Player Rule.

Who is considered home-grown? Here is from the Premier League’s official site:

"“A “Home-Grown Player” means a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21).Each squad contains no more than 17 players who do not fulfil the “Home Grown Player” (HGP) criteria.The rest of the squad, up to a total of 25 players, must be “Home Grown”.”"

Using this criteria, Aston Villa should have no problem complying. About half the squad spent time in FA academies prior to their 21st-birthday.

Now the question becomes, who will Smith and Co. register for their 25-player list?

Goalkeepers: Jed Steer, Lovre Kalinic, and Ørjan Nyland will be the three goalkeepers the club carries for the season, unless, a deal for a new No. 1 is made. Then, that goalkeeper would likely replace Kalinic who would be moved prior to the transfer window’s closing. Total: 3

Defenders: Set-in-stone at the moment. The only question is whether James Bree moves out on loan for the season. With him, ten defenders will be registered. Without him, nine. Total: 9 or 10

Midfielders: As Luiz and O’Hare don’t have to be registered, that leaves: Jack Grealish, John McGinn, Conor Hourihane, Henri Lansbury, Birkir Bjarnason to man the list. Another signing in midfield is possible, but the seven listed above have what it takes to play a 40+ game season. Total: 5 or 6

Forwards: Wesley, Jonathan Kodjia, Scott Hogan, Anwar El Ghazi, Jota, and the newly-acquired Trézéguet represent the attackers over the age of 21. It’s possible one more signing is made in the striker department. Should that happen, it’s likely Hogan would be moved elsewhere. Total: 6 or 7.

The high-end of the totals above equals 26 players. Therefore, Villa should have no problem complying with the Premier League’s squad rules. The club retains the flexibility to make more signings should it need to with Kalinic, Bree, Bjarnason and Hogan representing the players most likely to be transferred out.