Aston Villa‘s manager Steve Bruce recently gave an interview where he said that they will have to sell some of their players in the transfer market to comply with Financial Fair Play rules and it is inevitable that some of the star players will leave in the summer. What Bruce said was quite expected as, after failing to get themselves promoted, the club is in a financial turmoil. However, their owner has said that the club is not for sale.
The Villans faced a winding-up order from the High Court as they failed to pay HMRC their owed money. Bruce recently said in an interview,”We’re up against it, let’s be open and honest, we might have to make decisions that might not be easy, we have to generate some money’.
Inevitably that is going to be player sales. There are going to be people that I do not want to sell – and the obvious one is Jack [Grealish] – but people will know that we have got financial problems and they’ll sit and wait, and wait, till Deadline Day possibly. I hope that doesn’t happen but we’ve got to baton down the hatches and wait for it.”
With some departures expected, we look at three players the Clarets and Blues can part ways with this summer.
Jack Grealish
Let’s get the elephant out of the room by bringing his name first. Grealish is quite easily the most profitable asset which Villa possess right now and the young Englishman has constantly been linked with a move to English giants Tottenham Hotspur. The attacking midfielder played a crucial role in Villa’s push towards promotion to the Premier League. He is too good of a player to continue playing in the second division. The Villa midfielder has been subject to a bid from Spurs but that has fallen way below the club’s valuation of the player.
Jonathan Kodjia
The striker missed a good chunk of last season due to injury and managed just a solitary goal in the last campaign. The player has been linked with a move to Leeds United as the Whites look for a new beginning under Marcelo Bielsa. When fit and running, the centre-forward racked up 19 goals in the Championship for Villa in the 2016-17 season.
James Chester
Chester was the heart and soul of Villa’s defence alongside John Terry and one can say the Welshman is one of the most valuable assets at the club. Bruce also mentioned Chester’s name and said that there is a good chance that he will be sold as the club looks to avoid going into administration.
