Aston Villa fans will be glad the football is back doing the main talking again when it comes to their beloved side.
After a turbulent summer saw PSR-related issues trouble their transfer activity, a slow start out of the blocks in the Premier League further piled on the misery.
Thankfully, after a winless six-game stretch of form in both August and early September, Unai Emery’s men have now bounced back with four straight victories collected in all competitions.
Still, after this season is over and done with, Villa will likely have to come to terms with some disastrous casualties, alongside also getting rid of some personnel that won’t irk fans that much at Villa Park.
How Aston Villa can solve their PSR headache
While they haven’t been at their terrifying best so far this season, it goes without saying that keeping both Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers at the West Midlands giants this summer was a big relief to the Villans.
After all, even if they have only accumulated three goal contributions between them this campaign so far, losing both star assets would have been disastrous, with a crazy 42 goal contributions picked up in league action between them across the 2024/25 campaign.
Villa will surely have their resolve tested again in the summer when it comes to their standout duo, with Chelsea once touted to be considering a colossal £100m bid for the services of Rogers, a move that would no doubt ease any existing PSR worries.
Meanwhile, Manchester United have also consistently been tipped to make a statement move for the 29-year-old striker, but in the back end of his prime is unlikely to fetch a similar sum.
Not every potential sale will be seen as a demoralising development, however, with Emiliano Buendia perhaps finally getting the move away he desires.
Recent reports suggest that the rejuvenated South American – who recently scored in the Europa League for Emery’s men against Feyenoord – might well be offloaded still to smooth out PSR-related difficulties.
While the ex-Norwich City attacker has managed to turn his up-and-down Villans career around in recent times, there is one figure in Emery’s camp who is seriously on borrowed time as his contract begins to wind down.
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Buendia has miraculously fought back from some very serious injury issues to return to the Spaniard’s first team picture, having been sidelined for a mammoth 56 games courtesy of a cruciate ligament tear.
Ross Barkley might well have been looking at the Argentine midfielder for some inspiration, having had various injury issues of his own to contend with, but he doesn’t look as if he’s capable of a similar resurrection story to the rejuvenated 28-year-old, as he continues to stare his Villa Park exit in the face.
It’s been a sad decline for the former Everton playmaker, with Barkley actually once cutting a refreshed figure pulling on a Villa strip.
He initially joined on loan five years ago and tallied up three league strikes across his debut season in the West Midlands, which included a fierce effort which helped Villa pick up all three points against Leicester City in 2020.
He eventually return for good in the summer of 2024, with an alleged £5m forked out to obtain his services from Luton Town.
At the Hatters, Barkley rediscovered the swagger and vigour that made him such an exciting commodity back in the day at Everton.
Teammate at the time, Andros Townsend, said he was “outstanding”, while Paul Merson claimed that “Barkley is not far off player of the season” when lighting up Kenilworth Road for one season.
Five goals and seven assists came his way but he has struggled to pin down a starting spot since his return to the claret and blue half of Birmingham, as his exit now looks to be on the horizon.
Worryingly, only six minutes of Premier League action has been handed to the ex-England international in 2025/26, with the decision to leave him out of Villa’s Europa League squad entirely only further reinforcing his precarious status in the camp.
Games played
54
Goals scored
7
Assists
2
Games missed through injury
33
Wage per week
£60k-per-week
Contract expiry date
June 2026
With his contract also expiring next June, and his wage coming in at a high £60k-per-week despite being a reserve presence, it does feel as if it’s a foregone conclusion that Barkley will depart Villa very soon, with his promising first spell at the club now feeling like a lifetime ago.