New proposal to bring Aston Villa more financial power

Crystal Palace are planning to pitch a new financial proposal at the annual Premier League meeting next week that aims to improve English teams ability to be competitive in Europe.

The plan would give clubs like Villa a better opportunity to spend the money needed to build a squad to compete at such a high level in Europe. This proposal would provide that little bit of flexibility around spending and financial losses for clubs trying to show ambition in European competitions. It is Steve Parish, the chairman of Crystal Palace, who is pitching this idea due to his belief that English sides are at a disadvantage in comparison to other European countries.

Parish believes that UEFA's coefficient payments are not based on merit and instead based on historical achievements rather than clubs showing ambition to improve. The coefficient payments are based on the past decade of results in European competitions. Due to Aston Villa's absence from European competitions for almost two decades prior to this season, they are likely to suffer as Newcastle United did when they qualified last season for the UEFA Champions League. Newcastle were given under £5 million compared to Manchester City's £30 million.

Should the proposal be accepted it would be huge not just because it will allow the club to spend a little bit more freely in the transfer window but also to align more clearly with the allowable financial losses for a Premier League club. PSR rules say that a club are allowed a maximum of £105 million in losses over a three-year period and Villa's accounts at the end of the 2022/23 season showed a loss of nearly £120 million.

Villa will be hoping that other top-flight clubs will agree to this new proposal and it will certainly allow the English sides to be more competitive in Europe for years to come.

UTV