Yahoo News Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens have been true to their Wembley word as Aston Villa stand on brink
It was on the Wembley pitch back in May 2019, fresh from watching Aston Villa complete the most unlikely of promotions - when you consider where they found themselves in the league table three months earlier - that Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens began to hint at their grand claret and blue plans.
They hadn't had to suffer the pain and anguish from 12 months prior, when Fulham secured promotion in the play-off final at their expense. Little did the supporters at Wembley know on that fateful afternoon that Dr Tony Xia had gambled it all on promotion. Sawiris and Edens were the saviours, but also the beneficiaries by inheriting the club weeks later, dragging it back from the brink.
The first, most immediate, emotion usually following a takeover is one of relief. Particularly in Villa's case, it was about making ends meet, keeping wolves from the door and setting financial affairs in order. NSWE, with their billions, were able to carry out the necessary deeds and clear up the debts. With those actions, rather than merely with words, Villa supporters were gradually permitted to dream of what the club could aspire to be.
By their own admission, promotion came to them about 12 months ahead of schedule, but this was a happy development thanks to the work of Dean Smith and his players and it meant that NSWE's wider plans for Villa could be accelerated. They made funds available to sign Tyrone Mings, Ollie Watkins, Emiliano Martinez and Douglas Luiz.
READ: I oversaw £200m of Aston Villa transfers - but the best one was free
READ: Aston Villa Champions League boost as Ange Postecoglou confirms Tottenham blow
They have constantly been on top of contract statuses - Jack Grealish, Ezri Konsa, more recently Leon Bailey and the manager Unai Emery have all committed their long-term futures at one stage or another. NSWE have looked after their assets - so that when a Manchester City come calling, Grealish is worth whatever they demand - but it crucially points to what is going on at the club. There is no dawdling. Players want to be involved.
Go back to the day at Wembley, when Villa broke the hearts of Frank Lampard's Derby County. Sawiris and Edens were front and centre, present and accounted for as you'd hope and expect of dependable owners of a club. They joined in the celebrations on the pitch and conducted interviews. In this moment, both men began to indicate what promotion back to the Premier League could allow them to do.
“I still can’t believe we’re in the Premier League," Sawiris said. "I’m still getting the thought through my mind. This is the second best feeling since my daughter was born! This is why I came into English football. I’m a very bad loser, everybody who knows me knows that I hate losing, so we’re here to win.
"Dean and the squad were amazing, they had belief, and the fans were great - and with such a great fanbase, the sky is the limit. We've seen that with great management. Our ambition was not just to get promoted but to do well in the Premier League. It just feels great to be able to do something for all these great fans behind us."
Edens practically echoed his business partner's sentiments.
"I have to say I did envisage it. We had 12 games left when Jack Grealish came back – we had to win 10, we thought, to make it and made it easy because we won 10 in a row and from then on we believed the whole time we would be standing right here. To be here on this pitch with my partners and all these fans, it's truly incredible.
“I feel so fortunate to be a part of it. It’s an amazing thing to be part of this great club and its history and to be back in the Premier League, it means everything. Our goal was to get into the Premier League, but that is just the beginning. We want to build one of the best clubs in the world, so this is a major step in that direction. It’s just so exciting.”
Within five years of that date, Villa are preparing for their Europa Conference League semi-final tie with Olympiacos. True, the competition wasn't even born when Villa first returned to the top flight, but their qualification for the tournament last season - and their overcoming of quality opposition in Ajax and Lille in previous rounds - is an endorsement of what Emery is doing, and why he was brought to the club in the first place.
There've been bumps in the road. Grealish was never meant to be sold, but the offer came which was too great to refuse. Steven Gerrard's tenure didn't bear the fruit which NSWE and Christian Purslow intended after his appointment. Still, here we stand, five years on this very month from that fateful, triumphant day at Wembley, and Villa's appearance has changed immeasurably.
They have a world class manager, a serial tournament winner, in situ and who is buying into NSWE's long-term vision. They have Champions League football in their grasp and could end this season with continental silverware. Their strike rate in the transfer window since returning to the top flight has been largely very successful. NSWE weren't mincing their words after the play-off final and this transformed Villa in the present day is the evidence.
