Aston Villa ‘killed’ By Spending Rules In Transfer Window, Says Ezri Konsa

Ezri Konsa has said that football’s spending regulations “killed” Aston Villa during a difficult summertime transportation window. The club, who person started nan play severely pinch 1 constituent from 3 games and nary goals scored, were hemmed successful by nan Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules and nan balanced successful Uefa competition.

Villa paid retired 1 awesome interest – £30.5m to Nice for Evann Guessand – and made only 4 further first-team additions, Marco Bizot being followed successful connected deadline time by Victor Lindelöf, Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho. The nine were unfastened to trading Emiliano Martínez only for location to beryllium nary purchaser and moved Jacob Ramsey to Newcastle for £39m contempt Unai Emery preferring to support him. As a homegrown player, Ramsey counted arsenic axenic profit connected nan books.

Villa person been wounded by their precocious wages-to-revenue ratio, which stood astatine 96% successful 2023-24 according to Deloitte. Uefa fined nan nine connected 4 July for a breach of its squad costs ratio rules and warned they could look competitory restrictions if they did not person a affirmative transportation equilibrium by nan extremity of nan window. Villa person qualified for this season’s Europa League.

Konsa is preparing pinch England for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Andorra, which will beryllium played astatine Villa Park. The necktie has his afloat attraction arsenic he seeks to build connected his encouraging performances nether Thomas Tuchel. But it was not imaginable to place nan business astatine Villa and really PSR has go specified a talking point.

“It is crazy,” Konsa said. “I don’t understand it myself but from nan extracurricular looking in, it doesn’t look excessively good. I cognize that and I cognize it’s really killed america this transportation window. We’re going to person to woody pinch what we’ve sewage now.

“Everyone knows it’s been a reliable commencement but it’s portion of football. We’ve done immoderate recruitment connected deadline time truthful hopefully nan boys that person travel successful tin really thief us.”

Konsa was asked whether he had followed Monday’s deadline day. “Pffff, no,” he replied. “I decidedly didn’t watch that. It’s been tough, particularly for us. I knew that signing players was going to beryllium difficult truthful I did not look astatine transportation deadline day. Around 8 o’clock, I went connected Aston Villa Twitter to spot what happened and I saw that we’d signed 3 players, who are really bully and person Premier League experience. I deliberation that’s what we needed arsenic well.”

Ezri Konsa was sent disconnected successful Aston Villa’s opening time Premier League tie against Newcastle. Photograph: Ben Roberts/Danehouse/Getty Images

Konsa has made thing of a mendacious commencement connected a individual level. He was sent disconnected successful nan opening fixture against Newcastle, which vanished 0-0, and banned for nan 1-0 conclusion astatine Brentford. Villa mislaid 3-0 to Crystal Palace successful crippled three. Tuchel was successful attendance for nan first 2 matches.

“Yes, he was there,” Konsa said, pinch a smile, of nan Newcastle game. “I didn’t want to spot him but he was extracurricular nan [dressing room] door. He was laughing astatine me. Not overmuch to opportunity astir that! I sewage red-carded but he was very helpful, very understanding. It was a boring crippled anyway! He didn’t deliberation thing of it.

“I was really sat adjacent to him astatine nan Brentford game. Was location immoderate mini talk? No. He didn’t speak [during play]. He was conscionable focused. We only said astatine half-time. When we were watching nan game, he didn’t opportunity 1 word.”

Konsa has been astatine Villa since 2019 and he has seen nan genuinely difficult times, particularly his first play erstwhile nan nine narrowly avoided relegation to nan Championship connected nan last day. He has religion successful Emery, who has lifted Villa to finishes of seventh, 4th and sixth since taking complete successful October 2022. Konsa besides has religion successful what remains a talented team.

“We want to enactment successful nan apical six, apical 5 … we want to play Champions League football,” Konsa said. “I’ve been astatine Villa astatine nan worst times truthful I cognize really bad it tin be. We’re not location yet. It’s 3 games in.”

Konsa besides said astir nan work he and his England teammates consciousness to merge an progressively fractured federation pinch their performances. “Definitely,” he said. “We cognize really overmuch we tin bring group together. I saw it past twelvemonth astatine nan Euros, aft nan penalties against Switzerland [in nan quarter-final win]. As footballers, sometimes you don’t realise really overmuch powerfulness we person complete people. When we play for our country, nan pridefulness and joyousness we bring to group is amazing.”