Yahoo News Aston Villa already possess a tried and tested blueprint to bypass FFP transfer limit
Aston Villa haven't been afraid to splash the cash since returning to the Premier League. They've earned plenty, namely through the sale of Jack Grealish to Manchester City in 2021 and also through other academy products last summer, so it hasn't been one-way traffic, but Villa owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens have been supportive of each of the three employed managers during this top flight stint.
Villa spent big in the first instance to bring Tyrone Mings back to the club on a permanent basis. They spent big on Wesley, too, and Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Martinez a summer later. Then, Villa used the Grealish money to bring in Leon Bailey, Emiliano Buendia and Danny Ings the following season. Steven Gerrard was permitted to purchase Diego Carlos and Philippe Coutinho, the latter on a big contract.
Unai Emery has been backed, too, with the signings of Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby. Indeed Villa smashed their own transfer record twice in the same summer last year, but they've been sensible in the way they've gone about things and have maintained a steady progress rather than rule-breakingly quick wholesale changes.
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To help along the way, they've complemented those big money moves with shrewd additions in the free agent market. They've struck early into the summer, choosing not to dawdle but to beat their rivals to the best bargains which have in turn paid dividends on the pitch and make perfect financial sense in this age of Profitability and Sustainability Rules and Financial Fair Play.
It began in 2021. Fresh from leaving Inter Milan, Ashley Young was lured back to Villa Park. A former international teammate of Steven Gerrard's, everybody knew what Young was about. He had reinvented himself since leaving Villa and, these days, had become a full-back or wing-back. He joined at 35 but stayed for two seasons, competing largely with Matty Cash at right-back and helping Villa back to Europe across his 57 appearances.
Midway through Young's time at Villa, and Gerrard had intentions - even if he wasn't able to carry them out - of raising the profile of Villa's squad. The Lions went hunting in Europe and secured the signing of Boubacar Kamara as he left Marseille. This might yet prove to be one of the best free signings in Villa's recent history, judging by what we've seen of him so far.
Gerrard, who scouted Kamara, said at the time: “He’s exactly the type of player that we need if we want to go to the next level. He suits our style and I have no doubt, once he settles, that Aston Villa fans will be witnessing a very top player.” It's hard to disagree with a word of that. Indeed Kamara has proven in two seasons why both Manchester United, Barcelona and both Madrid clubs were chasing him on a free.
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Last summer, Villa were at it again early doors, and active in the free agent market. There can often be bargains to be had in the squads of clubs who have suffered relegation, whose individual ability is recognised despite the collective demise. One such player is Youri Tielemans. Like James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, he was never likely to be playing for Leicester City in the Championship last season.
It took a little while for Tielemans to ease into his surroundings. In the autumn international breaks, interviews were given which suggested Tielemans hadn't been happy with his game time early on, but as the season wore on Emery counted on his entire squad, that didn't prove to be an issue and Tielemans - once costing Leicester £40m - has since proven his worth, for Villa but also for Belgium.
Villa look like they might be at it again this summer. Like Young, Ross Barkley knows Villa. Like with Tielemans, you shouldn't hold the recent relegation of Luton Town on his CV against him. Barkley has shone in a Hatters shirt this term, enjoying a career rejuvenation under Rob Edwards and rightly proving why, at 30, there are still plenty of miles left in the tank.
At one stage, you wondered where his career might be going; Barkley failed to secure a permanent move to Villa when it looked on the cards in the first half of the 2020-21 season. He then left Chelsea for Nice, but returned to the Premier League with Luton, who had offered him a chance, and he duly repaid them with performances and leadership.
As Villa continue to grow under Emery, and prepare for the Champions League, their squad must be fleshed out. Signing a player like Barkley, on a free with FFP needing to be adhered to, with his experience of Villa and his experience of European football considered, could yet prove to be Villa's latest success story in an increasingly long line of early summer free transfers.
