At this point, there is more speculation regarding Aston Villa activity than there is of anything firmly concrete. It is safe to assume at this point, based on the fallout from how PSR and SCR have been handled, that the club has planned for things to more or less unfold in the way that they have this summer.
After all, Villa will have long been aware of the salary stipulations, and if not, it is all the media at large discussed with reporting on Villa, hence the endless transfer speculation.
While unconfirmed at this point, it appears that Villa made the calculated risk of toeing the line in terms of how high the wage bill would eventually become, knowing that the avenue out of any potential trouble would be relatively straightforward and manageable.
For skeptics who do not believe that Villa knew all along what the calculated consequences would be, the situation is, in fact, well under control, and the club is in a decent enough position to satisfy the benchmarks that have been set out by UEFA in order to get back into compliance with the newer guidelines.
Part of what this means is the need to have a balanced transfer approach. While reducing the salary amount, the club has to balance who comes in with a departure. Or at least the money has to match.
This could still end up resulting in a regular starter being let go, as has been the case for Douglas Luiz and Jhon Durán, for example.
Level approach now being witnessed by Aston Villa
Based on what is being displayed by Villa so far, however, the club appears to be of the belief that they will not need to make an additional large sale of that or a similar magnitude.
When considering a lot of the money that is coming off the books for the club and some of the options remaining at the disposal of Unai Emery and Monchi, Villa truly is in a decent spot.
They can't really afford to risk being that aggressive again. In terms of moving forward and continuing to push the club forward in a sustainable way, however, things are more or less fine in terms of how competitive this squad will be, now and in the years to come.